By Dave Sims, Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, March 29 (CNS Canada) – The ICE Futures Canada canola complex finished higher on Thursday, pushed up by a USDA report that surprisingly lowered the amount of soybeans that are expected to be planted in the United States.
The market was also chopping around a bit as traders looked for safe positions to park their money in.
Road restrictions are coming into effect across Western Canada, which is expected to limit farmer sales going forward.
A recent rise in canola exports underpinned values.
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However, the Canadian dollar was slightly stronger, relative to its U.S. counterpart, which made canola less attractive to international buyers.
Around 34,884 canola contracts were traded on Thursday, which compares with Wednesday when around 14,011 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 6,422 of the contracts traded.
Settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric tonne.
The soybean market posted sharp gains on Thursday with the release of the USDA’s planting intentions and grain stocks reports.
The USDA pegged soybean acreage at 88.9 million acres, which was well below traders’ guesses of 90 to 91 million. The estimate sent prices higher and also put soybeans in a position to rise further if the weather turns sour.
Soybean stocks in the United States are expected to rise to 2.1 billion bushels, which was higher than expected.
There is suspicion that some of the lower acreage could be due to financial pressure on farmers in the U.S., which means some fields could be left to fallow.
Corn futures jumped on Thursday as the USDA’s projection for corn acreage prompted a flurry of buying.
The USDA pegged corn acreage at 88 million acres, which was lower than last year’s total of 90.2 million acres.
Corn stocks were estimated to be a whopping 8.9 billion bushels, which was higher than most traders’ estimates.
Chicago wheat futures recorded solid gains, taking strength from the corn and soybean markets.
The agency said it believed farmers in the U.S. would plant 47.3 million acres of wheat, which was lower than what some investors were expecting to see.
In the Midwest, some rain was reported in Kansas this morning, which should help alleviate some of the excess dryness.
