By Phil Franz-Warkentin, MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, Oct. 28 (MarketsFarm) – The ICE Futures canola market was mixed at Thursday’s close, with gains in nearby November contract and losses in the more deferred months.
November canola climbed above C$1,000 per tonne early in the day as speculative positioning ahead of the contract’s expiry provided support. However, profit-taking eventually came forward and the contract settled just below that psychological level.
Thin volumes exaggerated the price swings in November, with the more active months pressured by activity in outside markets.
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Chicago Board of Trade soybean and soyoil futures were both lower on the day, which put some pressure on canola. Ideas that the Canadian oilseed is looking expensive at current levels also weighed on values.
About 29,997 canola contracts traded on Thursday, which compares with Wednesday when 30,170 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 17,070 of the contracts traded.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were weaker on Thursday, as losses in soyoil for the third-straight session spilled over to weigh on prices.
The United States Department of Agriculture reported weekly U.S. export sales of 1.16 million tonnes of soybeans, which was below average trade guesses.
Seasonal harvest pressure contributed to the losses in soybeans, although recent rains were likely causing delays in some areas.
CORN posted solid gains, finding spillover support from advances in wheat and Thursday’s bullish ethanol data.
U.S. ethanol production hit its second highest level ever in the latest weekly data released yesterday, and expectations for continued strong demand from the renewable fuel sector remained supportive for corn today.
Weekly U.S. corn export sales came in at about 890,000 tonnes, which was at the lower end of expectations.
WHEAT was higher, hitting fresh highs amid ongoing concerns over tightening world supplies.
Rain delays for winter wheat planting in parts of the Eastern Corn Belt were also supportive.
Russia’s agriculture minister announced updated production estimates, lowering the forecast for the country’s total grain crop this year after cleaning and drying to 123 million tonnes. That would be down by 4.4 million tonnes from an earlier forecast.
Weekly U.S. wheat export sales of 270,000 tonnes were at the lower end of trade guesses.
