By Dave Sims, Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, March 27 (CNS Canada) – The ICE Futures Canada canola complex ended mixed on Tuesday, with the nearby May contract propped up by the Canadian currency while the more-deferred contracts sank in sympathy with U.S soybeans.
Farmer hedges were a feature of the day’s activity and put pressure on prices, according to a trader in Winnipeg.
There are ideas that the USDA’s seeding intentions report, due to come out on Thursday, will be bearish for canola.
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Large world supplies weighed on the market.
However, weakness in the Canadian dollar, relative to its U.S. counterpart, was bullish for canola as it made the commodity more attractive on the international market.
Around 14,838 canola contracts were traded on Tuesday, which compares with Monday when around 10,365 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 6,744 of the contracts traded.
Settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric tonne.
The soybean market ended lower on Tuesday due to lukewarm demand.
China imported 24 per cent less soybeans (3.345 million tonnes) from the U.S. in February than the year before. At the same time, China imported 154 per cent more soybeans (1.746 million tonnes) from Brazil, compared to last year.
South Korea has recorded its first case of foot and mouth disease at a hog farm this year. If the outbreak spreads it could eventually cut into livestock feed demand.
Corn futures ended relatively unchanged on Tuesday.
The market was pressured by fund selling.
Planting is clipping along in most states with Texas corn already 43 percent planted, that’s up eight percentage points from last year.
Chicago wheat futures finished lower in speculative selling.
Russian wheat prices have been softening as of late, which was bearish for U.S. wheat exporters.
Winter wheat ratings in Kansas improved for the first time in months. Forty-nine per cent of the crop is rated as being either poor or very poor, a decline of six per cent from last week.
Traders were taking positons ahead of Thursday’s USDA seeding intentions report.
