By Marlo Glass, MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, March 13 (MarketsFarm) – Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) Futures canola contracts finished higher on Friday, regaining some ground after considerable losses incurred yesterday.
The Canadian dollar has dipped below 72 U.S. cents, the lowest point in several years. That provided a bit of a boost to canola prices.
Significant uncertainty posed by the COVID-19 coronavirus has sidelined many market participants. The Canadian government has advised Canadians to avoid all non-essential travel.
The Bank of Canada lowered its target for the overnight interest rate by 50 basis points to .75 per cent.
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In a press release, the Bank of Canada said “this unscheduled rate decision is a proactive measure taken in light of the negative shocks to Canada’s economy arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent sharp drop in oil prices.”
On Friday, 23,060 contracts were traded, which compares with Thursday when 20,881 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 13,706 contracts traded.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) finished lower on Friday, pressured by large global stocks and low demand.
Argentina’s agriculture ministry has lowered soybean production estimates by 2.5 million tonnes to total 52 million tonnes.
Last week, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), soybean export sales totaled just over 302,000 tonnes. It’s a new low for the 2019-2020 marketing year.
CORN futures were higher on Friday, due to strength in export demand.
This morning, the USDA announced a private export sale of 136,000 tonnes of corn, purchased by South Korea.
Last week, export sales totaled 1.47 million tonnes, which was an increase of 91 per cent from the prior week. It’s also a 12-week high.
WHEAT futures were mixed to end the week, with Chicago Wheat showing modest strength and slight weakness in Minneapolis and Kansas City.
Japan issued their weekly wheat tender, seeking over 100,000 tonnes of wheat from the U.S., Canada, and Australia.
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