By Phil Franz-Warkentin, MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, June 23 (MarketsFarm) – The ICE Futures canola market was weaker Friday, as speculative selling and relatively favourable Prairie weather conditions weighed on values ahead of the weekend.
Losses in Chicago soybean and European rapeseed futures contributed to the declines, although soyoil and Malaysian palm oil were both higher.
Statistics Canada releases updated acreage estimates next week Wednesday, with average trade guesses not straying too far from the 21.6 million acres forecast in April. The United States Department of Agriculture follows with its area numbers on June 30.
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About 36,270 canola contracts traded on Friday, which compares with Thursday when 38,832 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 15,888 of the contracts traded.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were weaker on Friday, as speculative positioning ahead of the weekend weighed on values.
Weekly United States soybean export sales of 457,500 tonnes of old crop business were in line with expectations, with new crop bookings of 168,800 tonnes.
Shifting weekly weather forecasts are now showing better chances of precipitation across much of the soybean growing regions of the U.S. in some models, contributing to the declines. However, several key growing areas remain hot and dry.
Soyoil posted solid gains, seeing a continued recovery after Wednesday’s sharp losses.
CORN was also weaker, losing all its gains of the past week with speculative selling building on itself as some stops were hit on the way down.
Net weekly U.S. corn export sales of about 36,000 tonnes were at the low of expectation, with new crop business not much better at 47,000 tonnes.
The shifting weather outlooks were a bit bearish for corn, but key growing areas remain hot and dry, and the likelihood of further downgrades to the crop remained supportive.
WHEAT was down in sympathy with soybeans and corn. Seasonal harvest pressure also weighed on the winter wheats, while welcome rains in spring wheat regions weighed on that market despite ongoing issues for both crops.
Weekly U.S. wheat export sales of about 124,000 tonnes were down on the week and at the lower end of trade expectations.
