ICE Futures canola contracts were mixed on Wednesday, with losses in the front months and a firmer tone in the more deferred positions.
Bearish technical signals and speculators adding to short positions accounted for much of the weakness in the most active nearby contracts, with prices hitting fresh contract lows for the third straight session.
Declines in Chicago Board of Trade soyoil futures, a firmer tone in the Canadian dollar, ample supplies and poor end-user demand also weighed on values.
However, a steady tone in CBOT soybeans for most of the day did provide some underlying support. Oversold price sentiment also helped temper the declines.
Read Also
China soybean imports hit record June high on strong Brazil shipments
China’s soybean imports hit the highest level ever for the month of June, a Reuters calculation of customs data showed on Monday, driven by a surge in shipments from top supplier Brazil.
About 21,604 canola contracts traded on Wednesday, which compares with Tuesday when 27,138 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 15,062 of the contracts traded.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were steady to lower after posting small gains throughout most of the session.
While confirmation is still lacking, optimism over the possibility of improving trade relations between the United States and China was enough to help beans see a recovery after yesterday’s declines.
Soymeal led to the upside in the soy complex, with adjustments in the product values seeing soyoil move lower.
Continued weakness in Malaysian palm oil and the advancing South American harvest also tempered the upside.
CORN futures were weaker, testing fresh five-month lows.
The latest U.S. ethanol report showed production at 1.028 million barrels per day in the past week, which was up slightly from the previous week. Total stocks of the renewable fuel in the country narrowed slightly to 23.709 million barrels.
While good demand from the ethanol sector was supportive for corn, U.S. Agriculture secretary Sonny Perdue told a House agriculture committee that a rule allowing sales of E15 gasoline year round may not be finalized in time for this summer, which weighed on prices.
WHEAT futures were narrowly mixed, seeing some consolidation after their recent large price swings.
European wheat futures were up in overnight trade, lending some support to the U.S. market. Ideas that recent losses were making U.S. wheat more competitively priced on the world market also provided some support.
OUTSIDE MARKETS
Light crude oil nearby futures in New York was up $1.44 at US$56.94 per barrel.
In the afternoon, the Canadian dollar was trading around US76.07 cents, down from 75.79 cents the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar was C$1.3145.
Winnipeg ICE Futures Canada dollars per tonne.
Canola Mar 19 465.70s -1.90 -0.41%
Canola May 19 473.20s -1.60 -0.34%
Canola Jul 19 480.90s -1.90 -0.39%
Canola Nov 19 486.40s +0.10 +0.02%
Canola Jan 20 492.40s +0.30 +0.06%
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 Mar 19 903-4s -0-2 -0.03%
Soybean May 19 916-6s -0-2 -0.03%
Soybean Jul 19 930-4s unch unch
Soybean Aug 19 936-2s unch unch
Soybean Sep 19 940-2s +0-2 +0.03%
Soybean Meal Mar 19 305.0s +1.8 +0.59%
Soybean Meal May 19 309.2s +1.9 +0.62%
Soybean Meal Jul 19 313.1s +2.0 +0.64%
Soybean Oil Mar 19 29.80s -0.29 -0.96%
Soybean Oil May 19 30.12s -0.28 -0.92%
Soybean Oil Jul 19 30.45s -0.29 -0.94%
Corn Mar 19 363-6s -2-4 -0.68%
Corn May 19 373-6s -2-2 -0.60%
Corn Jul 19 382-2s -2-2 -0.59%
Corn Sep 19 388-0s -1-6 -0.45%
Corn Dec 19 394-4s -1-6 -0.44%
Oats Mar 19 256-2s -9-2 -3.48%
Oats May 19 266-0s -2-0 -0.75%
Oats Jul 19 266-0s -2-6 -1.02%
Oats Sep 19 262-2s -0-4 -0.19%
Oats Dec 19 257-6s +0-4 +0.19%
Wheat Mar 19 461-0s +0-6 +0.16%
Wheat May 19 466-6s -1-4 -0.32%
Wheat Jul 19 473-2s -2-0 -0.42%
Wheat Sep 19 483-0s -2-4 -0.51%
Wheat Dec 19 497-6s -2-6 -0.55%
Minneapolis
Spring Wheat Mar 19 563-0s -0-4 -0.09%
Spring Wheat May 19 554-0s -1-0 -0.18%
Spring Wheat Jul 19 559-0s -0-2 -0.04%
Spring Wheat Sep 19 566-4s unch unch
Spring Wheat Dec 19 579-6s unch unch
Kansas City
Hard Red Wheat Mar 19 438-6s +3-0 +0.69%
Hard Red Wheat May 19 445-4s +1-2 +0.28%
Hard Red Wheat Jul 19 455-2s +0-2 +0.05%
Hard Red Wheat Sep 19 467-4s -0-2 -0.05%
Hard Red Wheat Dec 19 485-4s -1-2 -0.26%
Chicago livestock futures in US¢/pound, Pit trade
Live Cattle Feb 19 129.400s -0.175 -0.14%
Live Cattle Apr 19 129.925s unch unch
Live Cattle Jun 19 120.150s +0.100 +0.08%
Feeder Cattle Mar 19 143.875s +0.425 +0.30%
Feeder Cattle Apr 19 147.225s +0.450 +0.31%
Feeder Cattle May 19 148.275s +0.375 +0.25%
Lean Hogs Apr 19 55.600s -0.125 -0.22%
Lean Hogs May 19 65.600s +0.275 +0.42%
Lean Hogs Jun 19 75.825s +0.275 +0.36%
