By Glen Hallick, MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, May 5 (MarketsFarm) – Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) canola futures made sharp gains on Friday, due to a surge in comparable oils.
There were large upswings in Chicago soybeans and soyoil, along with those in Malaysian palm oil. Meanwhile, Chicago soymeal and European rapeseed experienced much more moderate upswings. A spike in global crude oil prices fueled the hikes in the vegetable oils.
An analyst suggested a round of short covering also pushed up veg oil prices.
Spring planting was well underway on the western Prairies, while activity was scarce on the eastern half.
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Alberta was scheduled to release its first crop report of the year this afternoon. Saskatchewan will publish their report on May 11 and Manitoba could issue its report sometime next week.
After 39 weeks into the 2022/23 crop year, the Canadian Grain Commission said producer deliveries of canola now tally 14.67 million tonnes, up from the 11.96 million this time last year. Canola exports hit 6.75 million tonnes versus 4.30 million a year ago. Domestic usage reached 7.78 million tonnes, up from last year’s 7.06 million.
The Canadian dollar was stronger at mid-afternoon Friday, with the loonie at 74.74 U.S. cents, compared to Thursday’s close of 73.71.
There were 32,431 contracts traded on Friday, which compares with Thursday when 20,085 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 17,260 contracts traded.
Settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric tonne.
Price Change Canola Jul 735.10 up 20.00 Nov 711.00 up 17.80 Jan 716.40 up 17.40 Mar 720.50 up 17.20
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) saw significant upticks in soybeans and soyoil on Friday, due to sharp increases in crude oil prices.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported March exports of soybeans came to 3.14 million tonnes. That brought the year-to-date to 46.95 million tonnes, 86 per cent of the USDA’s forecast for the 2022/23 marketing year. March soymeal exports were 1.34 million tonnes and those for soyoil were 5,087 tonnes.
The department is slated to publish its month supply and demand estimates on May 12. The report will include the first projections for 2023/24.
The day before that USDA report, CONAB in Brazil is scheduled to release its next supply and demand report. Futures International nudged up its call on that country’s soybean production to 153.99 million tonnes. In April, CONAB pegged its soybean output at 153.63 million tonnes.
As the effects of Argentina’s drought continued to be felt, the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange (BAGE) indicated it could reduce its projection on the country’s soybean harvest to less than its current estimate of 22.5 million tonnes.
WHEAT futures spiked on Friday, due to market concerns over the pace of spring planting in the U.S. and the condition of the country’s winter wheat.
Talks in Ankara, Turkey to extend the Black Sea export agreement got off to a rough start on Thursday when Ukraine’s representative slugged his Russia counterpart. A short melee broke out when the Russian interrupted the Ukrainian’s press conference by attempting to grab a Ukrainian flag out of his hands. The current agreement is set to expire on May 18.
The USDA reported March wheat exports tallied 1.36 million tonnes. The year-to-date reached 17.99 million tonnes, or 85.2 per cent of what the department expects for 2022/23.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) projected global wheat ending stocks for 2022/23 to be 309.7 million tonnes and 2023/24 production to hit 785 million tonnes.
Meanwhile the FAO reported its price index for April came in at 127.2 points, compared to 126.5 in March. The index reflected increases in prices for sugar, meat and rice versus decreases in cereals, dairy and vegetable oils.
CORN futures were higher on Friday, in sympathy with wheat.
Futures International projected the 2022/23 Brazil corn harvest to come in at 124.96 million tonnes, slightly more than CONAB’s April estimate of 124.88 million tonnes.
The BAGE said it may cut it’s forecast on the 2022/23 corn harvest in Argentina. Presently the exchange is at 36 million tonnes, but the drought has taken a great toll on the country’s crops. At the start of marketing year, the BAGE projected a corn harvest of 50 million tonnes. The exchange estimated the harvest at 20 per cent complete.
China purchased 108,104 tonnes of corn from South Africa, as China continued to diversify its import sources. South Africa, one of the top 10 corn producers in the world, had a bumper crop in 2022/23 of 15.89 million tonnes.
