By Phil Franz-Warkentin, MarketsFarm
Winnipeg, April 17 (MarketsFarm) – ICE Futures canola contracts were weaker on Wednesday, nearing major chart support as bearish technical signals and spillover from the losses in Chicago Board of Trade soybeans weighed on values.
The ongoing trade tensions with China and lack of progress on that front also weighed on values, according to participants.
Intermonth spreading was a feature of the activity, with a majority of the volumes tied to participants rolling out of the nearby May contract.
Statistics Canada releases its first acreage estimates of the year on Wednesday, April 24. Traders generally expect seeded canola area will be down from the 22.8 million acres seeded in 2018, but the extent of the revision remains to be seen.
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About 37,591 canola contracts traded on Wednesday, which compares with Tuesday when 37,851 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 27,124 of the contracts trade.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were weaker on Wednesday, with chart-based speculative selling a feature as prices fell to their lowest levels in six months.
Large U.S. supplies and South American harvest pressure contributed to the declines, with little fresh supportive news on the other side to temper the declines.
Brazil’s Celeres raised their estimate on the size of the Brazilian soybean crop to 115.8 million tonnes, which was up two million from an earlier forecast.
The lack of any significant progress on trade talks between the United States and China also weighed on values.
CORN futures held near unchanged. Weather forecasts across the Midwest are calling for above average temperatures over the next two weeks, but also above average precipitation.
Corn seeding is running behind schedule, and the chance of more delays provided underlying support.
However, large old crop supplies remained a bearish influence in the background.
Weekly U.S. ethanol production was up slightly in the latest weekly report, at just over a million barrels per day.
WHEAT futures were steady to higher, with the largest gains in Kansas City hard red winter wheat. The markets were seeing some consolidation after hitting fresh contract lows on Tuesday.
Ample world supplies remain a bearish influence on the wheat market, although improving US export sales provided some support.
Concerns over seeding delays for spring wheat were also supportive.
