By Phil Franz-Warkentin and Dave Sims, Commodity News Service Canada
June 5, 2014
Winnipeg – ICE Futures Canada canola contracts were weaker on Thursday, taking some direction from the declines seen in the CBOT soy complex.
The biggest losses were in the new crop months, old/new crop spreading saw the nearby July contract move back to a premium over the November futures.
While there are still some areas of concern across the Prairies, where wet fields have hampered the seeding progress, conditions for what is in the ground remain reasonably favourable, according to market participants.
Read Also
Canadian Financial Close: Loonie stands pat
By Glen Hallick Glacier Farm Media | MarketsFarm – The Canadian dollar was unchanged on Friday as weakness in the…
Bearish technical signals contributed to the declines in canola, although oversold price sentiment at the lows did provide some support.
End user bargain hunting, coupled with a continued lack of significant farmer selling, helped temper the declines as well, said traders.
About 23,812 canola contracts were traded on Thursday, which compares with Wednesday when 24,294 contracts changed hands.
Milling wheat, durum and barley futures were untraded and unchanged, after seeing some price revisions following Wednesday’s close.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were four to 22 cents per bushel lower on Thursday due to speculation that buyers of soybeans who can wait to buy supplies will hold off until more is known about the crop that’s currently in the ground, an analyst said.
U.S. exporters sold 230,500 metric tons of soybeans in the week that ended May 29, below analysts’ expectations.
More rain is expected in the US Southern Plains this week which should help improve soil conditions, according to a report.
SOYOIL futures were down on Thursday.
SOYMEAL futures were lower following soybeans.
CORN futures in Chicago continued to slide on Thursday, falling five to eight cents per bushel lower due to favourable weather in the US and an increased production outlook for the crop. Yields were estimated at 165.3 bushels an acre, up slightly from last year’s figure of 158.9 bushels. Those yields could result in more supplies even though fewer acres have been planted, according to an analyst.
Corn production is expected to hit a record 13.935 billion bushels this season, and could rise, according to a report.
The large long position held by commodity funds in corn made them susceptible to fund selling, an analyst said.
WHEAT futures in Chicago ended seven to nine cents per bushel lower Thursday on poor export demand and a generally favourable global crop outlook.
It was the 11th drop in the last 12 sessions as crop prospects in rival exporting nations also improved due to weather.
Russian spring wheat seeding is ahead of schedule while Ukraine’s grain exports are exceeding last year’s, according to government agencies in those countries.
– Brazil is also negotiating to increase purchases of Russian wheat after Argentina imposed export restrictions, according to a report.
– India is sitting on a mound of staple foods such as rice, wheat and sugar in a bid to mitigate potential price-spikes, largely thanks to bumper harvests in the last few years, said an analyst.
– Pakistan’s northwestern mountain region is losing three million tonnes of wheat to smugglers each year, causing price spikes of 22%, according to a report.
Settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric ton.
