By Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, April 5 (CNS Canada) – ICE Futures Canada canola contracts were mixed on Thursday, with gains in the nearby old-crop months and losses in the more deferred positions.
Advances in Chicago Board of Trade soybeans provided support, although activity was choppy in canola as the Canadian oilseed ran into resistance after already moving higher on Wednesday when soybeans were down.
While the threat of a trade war between China and the United States continued to overhang the grains and oilseeds, the concerns were muted somewhat on Thursday.
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Large old crop supplies, expectations for increased acres this spring, and steady farmer hedges all put some pressure on canola values, according to participants.
About 19,789 canola contracts traded on Thursday, which compares with Wednesday when 39,372 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 11,030 of the contracts traded.
SOYBEAN futures posted solid gains on Thursday, as the market saw a correction after dropping sharply on Wednesday in response to proposed Chinese tariffs on soybeans. There is no set date on implementing the 25 per cent tariffs, and many traders think cooler heads will eventually prevail in the trade dispute between China and the United States.
Buying interest built on itself throughout the day, with some stops hit on the way up.
Solid export demand was also supportive, as weekly with weekly U.S. soybean export sales of about 1.5 million tonnes coming in above trade guesses.
CORN was also due for a correction after yesterday’s declines, and moved higher with speculative buying.
However, weekly U.S. corn sales of about 900,000 tonnes were at the low end of trade estimates and put some pressure n values.
WHEAT futures were all higher as cold overnight temperatures in parts of the U.S. winter wheat belt may have caused some damage. Poor crop ratings in some areas also remained supportive.
However, weekly U.S. wheat export sales failed to live up to expectations, which helped temper the upside.
