By Phil Franz-Warkentin and Dave Sims, Commodity News Service Canada
October 17, 2014
Winnipeg – ICE Futures Canada canola market saw some choppy activity once again on Friday, but the bias was to the downside by the close as canola was said to be due for a correction after moving higher for most of the past week.
Losses in CBOT soybeans and soyoil accounted for some spillover selling in canola as well, with the advancing Canadian harvest another bearish influence, according to participants.
Canola had been higher at one point during the session, but ran into chart resistance and speculators returned to the sell side.
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In addition to that lack of farmer selling, the losses in canola were also tempered somewhat by the ongoing weakness in the Canadian dollar.
About 26,956 canola contracts were traded on Friday, which compares with Thursday when 27,098 contracts changed hands. The November/January spread was a feature as participants continued to roll positions out of the front month.
Milling wheat, durum, and barley were all untraded.
SOYBEAN futures in Chicago dropped 12 to 14 cents per bushel Friday due to dry weather across the US Midwest which is expected to aid harvest efforts going forward.
Rain is expected to fall in Brazil next week which should bring relief to parched soybean fields, which was bearish.
Aggressive farmer selling could take place in the next few sessions, a report suggested.
A report by Informa Economics says US soybean acreage will climb 4.3 million acres to 88.5 million acres in 2015.
SOYOIL futures were lower on Friday, following soybeans.
SOYMEAL futures ended lower for a second straight session.
CORN futures in Chicago fell three to four cents per bushel lower Friday on expectations of prime harvest weather across the US Midwest next week.
According to Informa Economics, US farmers will plant 87.8 million acres of new crop in 2015. That is up 496,000 acres from the previous estimate but 3.1 million fewer acres than last year.
WHEAT futures in Chicago ended slightly lower as forecasts calling for rain across parts of the US Southern Plains were bearish. The moisture is expected to aid freshly-planted crops, according to a report.
A relatively soft US dollar helped limit the losses. Ideas that South American buyers are showing more interest in hard red wheat was also supportive.
– Argentina’s exporters sold US$386 million worth of wheat, soybeans, corn and other wheat in one week, according to the Center of Cereal Exporters.
– Russian wheat prices are reportedly flattening out after three straight weeks of decline.
– The Czech Republic says this year’s grain harvest stands to be the third largest in the country’s history.
Settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric ton.
