By Phil Franz-Warkentin, MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, Sept. 23 (MarketsFarm) – The ICE Futures canola market settled with small losses on Friday, finishing well off its session lows.
Weakness in world energy and equity markets amid mounting macroeconomic concerns weighed heavily on Chicago soy complex, which accounted for some spillover selling in canola.
However, ideas that canola remains underpriced helped prop up the Canadian oilseed, with wide crush margins making canola very attractively priced to end users.
Weakness in the Canadian dollar, which was trading at its softest levels in over two years relative to its United States counterpart, also provided some support.
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The advancing Prairie harvest remained a bearish influence in the background, with weather conditions looking relatively favourable across the Prairies over the next week.
About 25,919 canola contracts traded on Friday, which compares with Thursday when 29,782 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 15,492 of the contracts traded.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were weaker on Friday, as a broad global selloff spilled into the grains and oilseeds. Crude oil was down by over five per cent, while the United States Dollar Index climbed higher which contributed to the pre-weekend selling pressure in the agricultural commodities.
Thursday’s soft export sales report remained another bearish influence.
In addition to speculative profit-taking, relatively favourable Midwestern weather was also bearish with conditions looking good for the harvest as in progresses.
Improving moisture conditions for Brazil’s upcoming soybean crop also weighed on values, although Argentina remains dry.
CORN was down in sympathy with most everything else, posting double-digit losses.
The good U.S. harvest weather was also bearish for corn. Meanwhile, France’s corn harvest was pegged at 26 per cent complete, well ahead of last year at this time when only one per cent of the crop had come off the fields.
WHEAT was thought to be due for a correction after rising for most of the past week.
However, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine did keep some caution in the wheat market given the uncertainty over exports out of the region going forward.
