By Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, Feb. 27 (CNS Canada) – ICE Futures Canada canola contracts were narrowly mixed at Tuesday’s close, after bouncing around both sides of unchanged in choppy activity.
Gains in Chicago Board of Trade soybeans and weakness in the Canadian dollar provided support for most of the day, with fund buying also underpinning the futures as speculators built on their net long positions, according to participants.
However, farmer selling targets were also hit on the move up, and increased hedge pressure tempered the upside. Ample old crop supplies and expectations for increased planted area this spring also weighed on values.
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About 37,304 canola contracts traded on Tuesday, which compares with Monday when 45,140 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 23,180 of the contracts traded.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were stronger on Tuesday, as declining production prospects in Argentina continued to provide support. Argentina is a major soymeal exporter, and a rally in soymeal helped pull beans up as well.
Supportive chart signals added to the gains in soybeans, as values retested the nearby highs hit yesterday.
However, profit taking and farmer selling put some pressure on values.
CORN futures were at fresh five month highs, with the dryness in Argentina also providing support.
Concerns over excessive rain in Brazil leading to seeding delays for that country’s second corn crop were also supportive.
WHEAT futures were mixed, with gains in the Chicago and Kansas City winter wheat contracts and a softer tone in Minneapolis spring wheat.
Condition ratings for winter wheat continued to deteriorate across the United States Plains, with only 12 per cent of the Kansas crop in the good to excellent category in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest report. That’s down from 14 per cent a month ago and compares with 43 per cent at the same point last year.
Oklahoma’s crop was left unchanged at four per cent good to excellent, which was also well off the level seen last year at this time.
The forecasts remain relatively dry over the next two weeks, which could lead to further condition downgrades.
Cold temperatures in Europe added to the firmer tone in wheat, as many fields could be susceptible to winterkill.
