By Phil Franz-Warkentin, MarketsFarm
Winnipeg, Sept. 30 (MarketsFarm) – The ICE Futures canola market was stronger on Monday, as the market reacted to the early start to winter that hit parts of the Prairies over the weekend.
The snow was heaviest in Alberta, but cold and wet conditions in all three Prairie provinces raised concerns over harvest delays and quality downgrades to any crops still in the fields.
Gains in Chicago Board of Trade soybeans were also supportive for canola, as quarterly United States soybean stocks came in tighter than expected.
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However, canola remained rangebound overall, with the November contract running into resistance to the upside. Large old crop supplies and Canada’s ongoing diplomatic dispute with China also tempered the advances.
About 37,686 canola contracts traded on Monday, which compares with Friday when 20,613 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 24,656 of the contracts traded.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were up sharply on Monday, as the market reacted to tighter-than-expected quarterly stocks data from the United States Department of Agriculture.
The USDA’s National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS) pegged soybean stocks in the country as of Sept. 1 at 913 million bushels, which was well below average trade guesses and the mid-September projection of just over a billion bushels.
A downward revision to last year’s average soybean yields was also supportive for prices.
Weekly U.S. soybean exports were solid at 982,000 tonnes.
CORN was also underpinned by a bullish stocks report, hitting its best levels since mid-August.
U.S. quarterly corn stocks of 2.114 billion bushels were well below trade guesses and the year-ago level.
A private export sale of 120,000 tonnes of U.S. corn to Mexico was also supportive.
Weekly U.S. corn exports of about 400,000 tonnes were up from the previous week, but total movement to date was running about 65 per cent behind last year’s pace.
WHEAT futures were stronger on Monday, with the biggest gains in the winter wheats.
The USDA’s annual small grains summary pegged this year’s U.S. wheat crop at 1.962 billion bushels, which was slightly below average trade guesses. However, of that total spring wheat was a bit higher than pre-report estimates at 600 million bushels.
A resurvey of spring wheat production will be conducted due to the lateness of this year’s harvest, with some of the U.S. spring wheat crop also affected by the winter weather hitting Canada.
Quarterly U.S. wheat stocks of 2.385 billion bushels were at the higher end of trade estimates.
