By Terryn Shiells and Marney Blunt, Commodity News Service Canada
WINNIPEG – ICE Futures Canada canola contracts ended stronger on Friday, finding some support from a late-day rally in Chicago soybean futures, analysts said.
Firmness in Chicago soymeal values and the sharply lower Canadian dollar added to the bullish tone.
Steady commercial demand and slow farmer selling were also behind the gains.
The evening of positions ahead of the weekend and next Tuesday’s USDA report lent further support to canola futures, brokers said.
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However, forecasts calling for beneficial weather for an expected record large US soybean crop tempered the upside.
Some spillover pressure also came from the losses seen in Chicago soyoil futures.
About 8,940 contracts traded on Friday, which compares with Thursday, when 9,478 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 3,286 of the trades.
Milling wheat, durum and barley futures were untraded, though the Exchange moved wheat and barley prices lower after Friday’s close.
SOYBEAN futures in Chicago closed higher on Friday on signs of strong demand from overseas, traders say.
Worries about tight old crop supplies and steady commercial demand were also bullish. However, good weather for U.S. soybean crops provided a bearish tone.
SOYOIL futures in Chicago closed lower on Friday.
SOYMEAL futures were higher on Friday, correcting the spread with soybean oil.
CORN futures in Chicago fell for a second day straight as forecasts for the 11 to 15 day period call for continued cool, wet weather, brokers say.
The chance of rainfall in the next two weeks has increased since Thursday, favouring the southwestern Midwest. Some parts of the northwestern Midwest and Great Lakes region are still dry and need rain, according to weather forecasters.
A string of expected heavy showers shifted across Missouri in the last 24 hours and are now solidly settling into Illinois. The system is expected to gradually shift to the east and southeast heading into the weekend.
WHEAT futures in Chicago fell on Friday on ideas that there will be a larger world supply of the crop, analysts say.
Ideas that the U.S., European and Russian wheat crop production could be revised higher in next week’s report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will keep a slight level of resistance in the market. However, rising geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine and a potential slowdown in million quality exports outside the EU for France should help to offset on setback, traders say.
Some traders are looking for German wheat allowable for delivery. The German harvest is about 60 per cent complete with a chance of rainfall this weekend, which could inflict crop quality issues.
• World stockpiles of wheat will rise to a three-year high of 190.81 million metric tonnes before the 2015 Northern Hemisphere, according to a Bloomberg News survey.
• The growing demand of wheat food products in the Republic of the Philippines is goodness for U.S. wheat farmers, as they have more than 90 per cent market share of imports to the Philippines.
• The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture bought a total of 154,245 tonnes of food quality wheat from the United States and Australia. Japan is the world’s sixth biggest wheat importer.
ICE Futures Canada settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric ton.
