By Phil Franz-Warkentin and Dave Sims, Commodity News Service Canada
July 2, 2014
Winnipeg – ICE Futures Canada canola contracts were lower at Wednesday’s close, seeing a continuation of Monday’s sharp declines as activity resumed after the Canada Day holiday.
CBOT soybeans were down on Tuesday when Canadian markets were closed and continued to drift lower on Wednesday. While Canadian weather concerns were supportive, the bearish US market kept canola under pressure as well, said participants.
The recent losses have also shifted the technical bias to the downside, which contributed to Wednesday’s selling pressure in canola.
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However, the heavy rains that fell across large parts of Manitoba and Saskatchewan over the past week did help limit the losses in canola. The extent of the damage is still being calculated, but canola production will be downgraded from earlier expectations, said traders.
That production uncertainty limited farmer selling, and also kept some end user demand in the market.
About 21,269 canola contracts were traded on Wednesday, which compares with Monday when 25,393 contracts changed hands.
Milling wheat, durum and barley futures were untraded and unchanged.
CORN futures in Chicago chalked up more losses Wednesday as
the dust continued to settle in the aftermath of the USDA
report, which said domestic inventories of corn were up 39% from
a year earlier.
Favourable weather conditions also contributed to the
pressure, as timely rains across much of the Midwest are
expected to aid early corn pollination.
However, excess moisture in eastern Nebraska, Iowa and
northern Illinois is expected to be detrimental for low-lying
areas in those districts, according to a report, which is
helping limit some of the losses.
Temperatures are also slightly cooler than ideal for
growing corn in some regions, according to analysts.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade fell lower
Wednesday, also dragged down by Monday’s USDA report which
pegged US plantings this year at a record 84.8 million acres.
Part of the USDA report suggests canola imports from Canada
and soybean imports from South America have helped offset some
It will take harmful weather in August to return the market
to the highs seen earlier this spring, according to an industry
participant.
Grain movement on the Mississippi River is at a standstill
for at least the next week due to flooding, according to
reports.
SOYOIL futures were lower following soybeans.
SOYMEAL futures were mixed, with the August contract
posting a loss while the more deferred values were roughly a
cent higher.
WHEAT futures in Chicago were up three to five cents per
bushel Wednesday, but mixed on the Kansas City Board of Trade
with values staying below unchanged in the near-term, as traders
took profits in the lead-up to the July 4th long weekend.
There are ideas that US values are close enough to Russian
forward, said an analyst.
US winter crops are nearly half-harvested. At this stage
there is speculation soft red winter wheat yields could be low,
yet have high protein levels, according to a report.
– Turkey is tendering for the purchase of 30,000 tonnes of
wheat flour and 20,000 tonnes of barley for the period of
July 25 to August 20, according to a report.
– The grain harvest in Tunisia is not expected to exceed 23.6
million quintals this year, an analyst said.
– India is reportedly on the verge of buying close to 28
million tonnes of wheat from its farmers. The compares to
25 million tonnes purchased at the same time last year.
Settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric ton.
