By Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, April 6 (CNS Canada) – ICE Futures Canada canola contracts were stronger on Friday, boosted by Prairie weather concerns and speculative buying.
Lingering winter conditions across much of Western Canada have some analysts reconsidering acreage projections for the spring, with a later seeding start possibly shifting some intended canola acres into other crops, according to participants.
Bullish technical signals contributed to the gains in canola, as the canola remains in a well-established uptrend.
The trade dispute between China and the United States continued to overhang the grains and oilseeds, with the latest developments including a threat from U.S. President Donald Trump of an additional US$100 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods. While equity markets were down hard on the day, Chicago Board of Trade soybeans managed to recover from early losses to end narrowly mixed.
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About 32,210 canola contracts traded on Friday, which compares with Thursday when 19,789 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 21,274 of the contracts traded.
SOYBEAN futures ended mixed on Friday, as the market reacted to the ongoing back-and-forth trade dispute between China and the U.S.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest sabre-rattling weighed on soybeans in early activity, but the market moved above unchanged as the day progressed.
Declining crop estimates out of Argentina provided some support, while the U.S. is also seeing good demand for its soybeans despite the trade dispute with China.
The USDA reported a 130,000 tonne sale of soybeans to Mexico this morning and an additional 458,000 tonnes to other “unknown destinations.”
The USDA’s next monthly supply/demand report will be released April 10, and positioning ahead of the report was a feature.
CORN futures held near unchanged, although the bias was to the downside as the trade uncertainty kept some caution in the futures.
The USDA reported private export sales of 100,000 tonnes of corn to Egypt, which provided some support.
WHEAT futures were higher, with the largest gains in Minneapolis spring wheat.
Persistent cold temperatures across much of the North American wheat growing regions were especially supportive for Minneapolis spring wheat, as seeding delays are likely due to the frozen soil.
Cold weather added to the stress on the winter wheat to the south, especially as many areas are already dealing with drought stress.
Roughly a quarter of Kansas is in a state of extreme drought, according to the latest Drought Monitor report, with 81 per cent of the major wheat growing state dealing with dryness.
