By Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, April 18 (CNS Canada) – ICE Futures Canada canola contracts were stronger on Wednesday, boosted by weakness in the Canadian dollar and solid export demand.
The Bank of Canada’s cautious outlook, following an announcement it was keeping interest rates unchanged for now, sparked a selloff in the currency. That should make canola more attractive to international buyers, and traders speculated that China may be in the market looking for alternatives to soybeans from the United States amid the ongoing trade dispute between the two countries.
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Concerns over a late start to spring seeding in Western Canada were also supportive. However, most traders still expect to see record-large canola acres this year, which tempered the upside.
Losses in Chicago Board of Trade soybeans also put some pressure on values.
About 34,456 canola contracts traded on Wednesday, which compares with Tuesday when 31,345 contracts changed hands. Spreading was a feature, accounting for 27,054 of the contracts traded.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were mostly lower on Wednesday, as concerns over the United States/China trade dispute and a possible reduction in Chinese demand for U.S. beans put some pressure on values.
Expectations that the late spring will see some intended acres shift out of corn and into soybeans in the Midwest were also bearish.
However, the production problems in Argentina remained a supportive influence in the background, as the South American country is importing soybeans in order to meet the demands of its crushing sector.
CORN futures were firmer, finding support from the slow start to spring seeding. However, a reduction in demand from the ethanol sector put some pressure on the other side.
Corn also found itself pulled in two directions, reacting to the losses in soybeans on the one side and gains in wheat on the other.
WHEAT futures were all higher, with the biggest gains in Kansas City hard red winter wheat.
Shifting weather forecasts out of the southern U.S. Plains were behind some of the short-covering that propped up values, as a system set to move through this weekend is no longer expected to bring as much moisture as originally thought.
Ideas that any rains won’t be enough to improve yields in the driest areas also provided some support.
Concerns over seeding delays for spring wheat to the north added to the firmer tone in wheat.
However, ample world supplies remained a bearish factor in the background.
