By Marlo Glass, MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, Feb. 20 (MarketsFarm) – Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) Futures canola contracts ended narrowly mixed on Thursday, despite spending most of the trading session in the red.
Uncertainty regarding when China will be in the market for agriculture commodities has sidelined some participants, which dragged on prices.
The Canadian dollar was slightly weaker at around 75.44 U.S. cents, which provided paltry support to canola prices.
On Wednesday, 23,930 contracts were traded, which compares with Thursday when 28,659 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 18,268 contracts traded.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) finished weaker on Thursday, dragged down by reports of high South American crop yields.
One private company estimated U.S. soybean exports will total between 700,000 and 1.2 million tonnes for last week. The firm also estimates soy meal exports will be between 200,000 and 400,000 tonnes, and soy oil to be between 15,000 and 30,000 tonnes. The official export numbers from the United States Department of Agriculture will be released tomorrow due to the President’s Day Holiday.
The USDA, at its annual agriculture projection report, expects soybean acres for 2020 to total 85 million acres in the U.S. That’s a considerable increase from the 76.1 million acres planted in 2019.
CORN futures were weaker on Thursday.
One private company estimates that last week’s corn exports will be between 900,000 and 1.1 million tonnes.
Production numbers from the Energy Information Administration showed ethanol production averaged just over 1 million barrels per day last week, which is slightly higher than the previous week. Ethanol stocks increased by 423,000 barrels to total 24.7 million barrels.
The USDA has projected that U.S. planted acreage for corn will total 94 million acres in 2020, which is up from last year’s 89.7 million.
WHEAT futures were weaker today, correcting lower after double-digit gains were incurred earlier in the week.
Market participants expect wheat exports for last week to be between 400,000 and 640,000 tonnes.
The USDA expected 2020 wheat acreage in the U.S. to total 45 million acres, which was steady compared to last year.
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