By Dave Sims and Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, July 7 – The ICE Futures Canada canola market ended lower due to action in the Canadian currency. The loonie was two thirds of a cent higher relative to its US counterpart, and this made canola less attractive to international buyers.
Traders were also positioning themselves ahead of the weekend. No one wanted to be caught in a vulnerable position in case the weather forecast changes drastically between now and Monday.
Weakness in Malaysian palm oil dragged down prices.
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However, strength in US soybeans was supportive for canola.
Some areas of Saskatchewan and Alberta were hit with heat warnings today. Soil moisture is becoming an issue in the southern portions of those provinces and there are fears the plants could suffer damage.
About 21,588 canola contracts traded on Friday, which compares with Thursday when 25,200 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 2,992 of the contracts traded.
Milling wheat, durum, and barley were all untraded.
Settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric tonne.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were up 11 to 16 cents per bushel on Friday, hitting their highest levels in our months.
Forecasts calling for hot and dry weather across much of the major US growing regions over the next week to ten days contributed to the firmer tone in beans, according to traders.
Weekly US soybean export sales of about 440,000 tonnes (old and new crop combined) were in line with market expectations and ahead of the week-ago level.
Large South American crops remained a bearish influence in the background, tempering the upside.
SOYOIL futures were lower on Thursday, as spreading against soymeal weighed on values. Weekly US soyoil export sales were also well below pre-report expectations.
SOYMEAL futures settled sharply higher on Friday.
CORN futures in Chicago were steady to up two cents per bushel on Friday, as the hot and dry Midwestern weather kept the bias pointed higher into the weekend.
Reports of harvest delays in Argentina provided further support, although South American crops are still expected to be large overall.
Weekly US corn export sales of just over 200,000 tonnes (old and new crop combined) came in well short of expectations, which put some pressure on prices.
WHEAT futures in Chicago were down by three to four cents per bushel, after bouncing to both sides of unchanged, as traders took profits ahead of the weekend.
The losses in wheat came despite continued concerns over the state of the US spring wheat crop, as conditions remain hot and dry in the key growing regions of the US.
Weekly US wheat export sales came in at 375,000 tonnes according to the USDA, which was in line with market expectations.
