By Phil Franz-Warkentin
Glacier FarmMedia MarketsFarm – The ICE Futures canola market was weaker on Friday but managed to settle off the six-month lows hit earlier in the session.
Chart-based speculative selling and a lack of any supportive fundamental news kept the path of least resistance pointed lower. Early losses in Chicago soyoil futures also weighed on prices, but soyoil turned higher and lent some support to canola.
The Canadian dollar continued to strengthen relative to its United States counterpart, hitting its highest level since August. A stronger currency cuts into crush margins while making exports less attractive to international buyers.
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There were an estimated 57,768 contracts traded on Friday, which compares with Thursday when 49,905 contracts traded. Spreading accounted for 46,850 of the contracts traded.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were mixed at Friday’s close, with the bias to the downside in all but the nearby January contract as the possibility of rain in dry regions of Brazil sometime next week weighed on prices.
Argentina’s soybean crop was 60 per cent seeded according to a report from the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange, with most fields in decent condition. In Brazil, the nearby forecast remains hot and dry, before more rains are set to return early next week.
Solid export demand provided some support on the other side. The United States Department of Agriculture announced flash sales of 134,000 tonnes of soybeans to China this morning, with another 447,500 tonnes to unknown destinations.
CORN futures found some strength on ideas the market was looking overdone to the downside, with end of the year positioning providing some support.
Argentina’s corn crop is generally in good shape according to reports out of the country, while opinions remain mixed on the state of Brazilian production as the northern growing regions remain too dry while the south is too wet.
WHEAT moved higher on Friday, with speculative short covering behind some of the buying interest as fund traders square up positions ahead of the holidays. Recent export demand also remained supportive, although there was no fresh business reported on Friday.
Rain and snow across the southern U.S. Plains should help winter wheat in the region, tempering the advances.
