By Glen Hallick, MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, Oct. 19 (MarketsFarm) – Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) canola futures were stronger on Tuesday due to ongoing concerns about tight supplies and dry conditions across the Prairies.
A trader commented the rolling out of the November contract into January was a major feature in today’s trading. He added that crushers and other buyers are worried about the small amount of canola available on the market and are buying as much as they can.
Additional support came from increases in European rapeseed and on the Chicago soy complex. Some pressure came from slightly lower Malaysian palm oil values.
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At mid-afternoon the Canadian dollar was a pinch higher with the loonie at 80.87 U.S. cents, compared to Monday’s close of 80.81.
There were 36,426 contracts traded on Tuesday, which compares with Monday when 19,758 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 25,506 contracts traded.
Settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric tonne.
Price Change
Canola Nov 937.80 up 16.70
Jan 932.20 up 16.90
Mar 917.80 up 17.70
May 892.70 up 17.50
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) were higher on Tuesday due to technical buying.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that 60 per cent of the country’s soybeans were harvested as of Oct. 17. That was a gain of 11 points on the week and 15 ahead of the five-year average.
Soybean and Corn Advisor’s Dr. Michael Cordonnier held his rating for Brazil’s soybean crop at six out of 10, projecting a harvest of 144 million tonnes. With less than one per cent of Argentina’s soybeans planted, Cordonnier did not offer a rating, but forecast production at 51 million tonnes.
AgRural reported Brazil’s soybean crop to be 22 per cent seeded, 14 points ahead of last year’s pace and the third highest on record for this point of planting.
CORN futures were slightly lower on Tuesday, due to harvest progress.
The USDA said 52 per cent of U.S. corn has been combined, for an advance of nine since the previous report and the harvest was 11 points above the five-year average. Corn mature reached 97 per cent, a few points ahead of the average, and that crop conditions remained at 60 per cent good to excellent.
There have been increasing expectations that U.S. farmers could plant less corn in 2022 because of rising fertilizer costs. One estimate put three million acres switching from corn to soybeans.
Cordonnier also gave a six out of 10 rating for Brazil’s corn crop, which he said should reap 118 million tonnes. He rated the Argentina corn crop between four and five out of 10 due to ongoing dry conditions, but expects production to top 53 million tonnes.
AgRural estimated Brazil’s corn crop to be 45 per cent in the ground, up one point from a year ago.
WHEAT futures were mixed on Tuesday, with gains coming in Minneapolis while Chicago and Kansas City incurred small declines.
Exports of hard red spring wheat continued to be hampered by a glut of soybean exports at ports along the North American west coast. The damage to U.S. Gulf ports caused by Hurricane Ida forced soybean shipments to be diverted, with the backlog expected to carry on until the New Year.
The planting of U.S. winter wheat was reported to be 70 per cent in the ground, up from 60 the previous week and pretty much on par with the average. The amount emerged was at 44 per cent, rising 13 points on the week and three behind the average.
IKAR reported that export prices for Russian wheat have finally stabilized after 13 weeks of growth. Meanwhile, SovEcon said Russian wheat exports have dropped by 26 per cent since the beginning of the 2021-22 marketing year at 13.6 million tonnes.
Reuters estimated Ukraine’s grain harvest to be at 73 per cent complete. The total grain harvest is forecast to reap 80.3 million tonnes, for an increase of 23.5 per cent over last year.
