By Phil Franz-Warkentin, MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, Aug. 4 (MarketsFarm) – The ICE Futures canola market was stronger on Friday, with chart-based positioning a feature as traders adjusted positions ahead of the long weekend.
The canola market will be closed Monday for Terry Fox Day, while grains and oilseeds in the United States will trade their usual hours.
Gains in Chicago soybeans and soyoil accounted for some spillover support in canola, with European rapeseed and Malaysian palm oil futures also higher.
Hot and dry Prairie weather contributed to the gains, although most of the canola crop is still thought to be in relatively good shape, according to reports.
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About 19,427 canola contracts traded on Friday, which compares with Thursday when 26,609 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 9,644 of the contracts traded.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were stronger on Friday, posting gains for the second session in a row as the market continued to recover off its nearby lows.
Thursday’s solid export sales report remained supportive, with a rally in crude oil also spilling over to pull soyoil up as well.
While the large Brazilian crop remained a bearish influence in the background, the country is reportedly shifting towards moving more recently harvested second crop corn, instead of soybeans.
Forecasts calling for cooler and wetter conditions across much of the United States soybean growing regions were bearish later in August tempered the advances.
CORN was due for a modest correction ahead of the weekend, finding spillover support from the advances in soybeans as well.
Uncertainty over Black Sea grain movement remained a feature, with a Ukrainian drone strike on a Russian naval vessel temporarily halting some movement in the region.
Argentina’s corn harvest is reportedly about three quarters complete, as dry weather aided operations there.
WHEAT was mixed, with gains in Chicago soft wheat, and losses in the Minneapolis and Kansas City hard red wheats.
Wheat traders are also following the news out of Ukraine and Russia closely, with grain still moving out of the region despite the continued conflict.
There were reports that India was considering lowering or removing its import tariffs on wheat to shore up domestic supplies.
