By Dave Sims and Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, Mar. 2 – THE ICE Futures Canada canola market suffered losses on Thursday, following declines in the US soy complex.
North American oilseeds underwent a correction in the wake of yesterday’s sharp gains.
Losses in crude oil and Malaysian palm oil futures added to the downturn. Fund selling and an increase in farmer hedges were also noted.
The Canadian dollar was a quarter of cent lower relative to its US counterpart, which made canola more attractive to international buyers.
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Crush margins on the Prairies have improved slightly over the past few days, which was supportive.
Around 22,355 canola contracts were traded on Thursday, which
compares with Wednesday when around 24,708 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for about 8,756 of the contracts traded.
Milling wheat, barley and durum were all untraded.
Settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric tonne.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were down by eight to 14 cents per bushel on Thursday, as profit-taking came forward to weigh on values following the recent rally.
Large South American production prospects added to the bearish tone, according to participants.
However, logistics issues in Brazil were somewhat supportive, as excess moisture in some areas is causing difficulties moving soybeans to port positions along muddy roads.
Weekly US soybean export sales of 428,000 tonnes were in line with expectations.
SOYOIL futures were down on Thursday, backing away following the recent rally.
SOYMEAL futures were lower on Thursday.
CORN futures in Chicago were down by two to three cents per bushel on Thursday, correcting after the rally seen earlier in the week.
Informa Economics released updated South American production estimates, raising its forecast for Brazil’s corn crop to 91 million tonnes, from 89 million. The company left Argentina’s corn production unchanged at 35.2 million tonnes.
Weekly US corn export sales of 692,000 tonnes were at the low end of trade expectations.
WHEAT futures in Chicago were down by three to four cents per bushel on Thursday, as ample world supplies continued to weigh on prices and the market backed away following the gains posted earlier in the week.
The USDA reported weekly US wheat export sales of 353,000 tonnes, which were at the low end of trade expectations.
Strength in the US dollar index added to the weaker tone.
