Winnipeg – ICE Futures canola contracts were weaker on Wednesday, posting losses for the first time in five days as speculative short-covering dried up and the bearish underlying fundamentals weighed on prices.
Large old crop supplies and the ongoing uncertainty over Chinese demand accounted for much of the weakness, with expectations for a burdensome carryout at the end of the 2018/19 marketing year.
Losses in Chicago Board of Trade soyoil and a firmer tone in the Canadian dollar also weighed on values.
However, a lack of significant farmer selling and expectations for a decline in seeded acres this spring helped temper the declines.
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About 25,085 canola contracts traded on Wednesday, which compares with Tuesday when 13,757 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 17,750 of the contracts traded.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were weaker on Wednesday, backing away from earlier gains as the market ran into resistance to the upside.
The May contract had traded above the psychological US$9 per bushel mark at one point, but failed to see any follow-through buying and eventually turned lower.
Large old crop supplies, South American harvest pressure, and expectations that Midwestern flooding will see some intended corn acres go to soybeans instead all added to the weaker tone.
However, optimism over trade negotiations taking place between the United States and China provided some support.
CORN futures held onto small gains, as concerns over planting delays provided support.
However, corn remained range-bound overall with any upside limited by the large old crop supply situation.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture releases its monthly world supply/demand report next week, and positioning ahead of the report accounted for some of the activity.
WHEAT futures were mixed, with losses in Minneapolis spring wheat and gains in the winter wheats.
Improving weather conditions in the northern spring wheat growing states accounted for some of the selling pressure in the Minneapolis futures, as concerns over flooding and seeding delays in the region started to subside.
Meanwhile, speculative short-covering underpinned the Chicago and Kansas City contracts, and the spreads between the three markets saw some adjustment.
OUTSIDE MARKETS
Light crude oil nearby futures in New York were up xx cents at US$62.49 per barrel.
In the afternoon, the Canadian dollar was trading around US75.05 cents. The U.S. dollar was C$1.3324
Winnipeg ICE Futures Canada dollars per tonne.
Name / Contract Last Change % Change
Canola May 19 455.40s -3.30 -0.72%
Canola Jul 19 463.30s -3.40 -0.73%
Canola Nov 19 475.00s -2.70 -0.57%
Canola Jan 20 481.60s -2.70 -0.56%
Canola Mar 20 486.60s -2.60 -0.53%
American crop prices in cents US/bushel, soybean meal in $US/short ton, soy oil in cents US/pound. Prices are displayed with fractions (2/8, 4/8, and 6/8) instead of decimals. -2 equals .25, -4 equals .50, -6 equals .75. The “s” means it is the settlement.
Chicago
Soybean May 19 898-6s -1-2 -0.14%
Soybean Jul 19 912-2s -1-2 -0.14%
Soybean Aug 19 918-0s -1-4 -0.16%
Soybean Sep 19 922-4s -1-4 -0.16%
Soybean Nov 19 932-0s -0-6 -0.08%
Soybean Meal May 19 311.0s +0.4 +0.13%
Soybean Meal Jul 19 314.7s +0.5 +0.16%
Soybean Meal Aug 19 316.2s +0.5 +0.16%
Soybean Oil May 19 28.80s -0.16 -0.55%
Soybean Oil Jul 19 29.13s -0.16 -0.55%
Soybean Oil Aug 19 29.28s -0.16 -0.54%
Corn May 19 362-6s +1-2 +0.35%
Corn Jul 19 372-0s +1-2 +0.34%
Corn Sep 19 380-4s +1-2 +0.33%
Corn Dec 19 390-6s +1-2 +0.32%
Corn Mar 20 405-0s +1-2 +0.31%
Oats May 19 285-2s +7-2 +2.61%
Oats Jul 19 277-2s +2-6 +1.00%
Oats Sep 19 268-4s +1-4 +0.56%
Oats Dec 19 259-6s +1-2 +0.48%
Oats Mar 20 257-2s +1-4 +0.59%
Wheat May 19 471-0s +7-0 +1.51%
Wheat Jul 19 474-4s +6-0 +1.28%
Wheat Sep 19 481-6s +5-6 +1.21%
Wheat Dec 19 495-2s +5-4 +1.12%
Wheat Mar 20 508-4s +5-2 +1.04%
Minneapolis
Spring Wheat May 19 534-6s -7-0 -1.29%
Spring Wheat Jul 19 542-2s -5-4 -1.00%
Spring Wheat Sep 19 551-6s -4-4 -0.81%
Spring Wheat Dec 19 566-2s -3-6 -0.66%
Spring Wheat Mar 20 579-6s -4-0 -0.69%
Kansas City
Hard Red Wheat May 19 436-6s +3-4 +0.81%
Hard Red Wheat Jul 19 443-4s +2-6 +0.62%
Hard Red Wheat Sep 19 454-6s +3-2 +0.72%
Hard Red Wheat Dec 19 474-6s +2-6 +0.58%
Hard Red Wheat Mar 20 493-0s +3-2 +0.66%
Live Cattle Apr 19 125.775s -0.500 -0.40%
Live Cattle Jun 19 119.000s -0.650 -0.54%
Live Cattle Aug 19 115.775s -0.475 -0.41%
Feeder Cattle Apr 19 144.750s -0.100 -0.07%
Feeder Cattle May 19 147.275s -0.525 -0.36%
Feeder Cattle Aug 19 154.350s -0.900 -0.58%
Lean Hogs Apr 19 79.075s +0.125 +0.16%
Lean Hogs May 19 88.400s +4.400 +5.24%
Lean Hogs Jun 19 94.850s +3.350 +3.66%
