By Phil Franz-Warkentin, MarketsFarm
Winnipeg, April 30 (MarketsFarm) – ICE Futures canola contracts fell to fresh contract lows on Tuesday, as losses in the Chicago Board of Trade soy complex and strength in the Canadian dollar weighed on values.
The ongoing trade tensions between Canada and China remained the major bearish influence on canola, with the bias expected to remain pointed lower as long as the two countries remain at odds.
Chart-based selling added to the declines, as speculators added to their large net-short positions.
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Strength in the Canadian dollar, which was up about a third of a cent relative to its United States counterpart also weighed on values.
However, expectations that the falling prices will cut into some canola acres this spring were supportive.
About 11,238 canola contracts traded on Tuesday, which compares with Monday when 23,800 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 6,000 of the contracts trade.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade dropped to fresh contract lows on Tuesday, with bearish technical signals accounted for much of the weakness as speculators added to their large net short position.
The lack of progress on trade talks between the United States and China also weighed on prices, as the negotiations continue to drag on.
Only about three per cent of the U.S. soybean crop was seeded as of this past Sunday, according to the latest weekly U.S. Department of Agriculture report. That’s slightly behind average, but analysts noted that there is still plenty of time to get in the crop. Delays seeding corn are also expected to lead to a million acres or more acres shifting out of corn and into soybeans.
CORN futures managed to post small gains after trading within a narrow range throughout the session.
U.S. farmers made some seeding progress over the past week, with 15 per cent of intended corn acres in the ground as of Sunday. That was slightly ahead of trade guesses, but still well behind the 27 per cent average for this time of year.
Midwestern forecasts are calling for more moisture over the next week, which should continue to hamper the planting pace.
WHEAT futures were mostly lower, as large world crops and good U.S. crop conditions weighed on values.
The U.S. winter wheat crop was rated 64 per cent good to excellent in the latest weekly USDA report, improving two points from the previous week. That compares with last year when only 33 per cent of the crop was in the top two quality classes.
Spring wheat was only 13 per cent seeded in the U.S., which compares with the average for this time of year of 33 per cent.
