By Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, Jan. 17 (CNS Canada) – ICE Futures Canada canola contracts settled within one dollar of unchanged in most months after a session that saw values swing back and forth in choppy activity.
Chart-based speculative buying and early weakness in the Canadian dollar provided some underlying support. However, the currency eventually moved higher.
The soy complex in Chicago was also mixed on the day, with spillover from the losses in soyoil countered by a relatively firmer tone in soybeans by the close.
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Warmer weather across Western Canada, and expectations for an increase in farmer deliveries put some pressure on values, according to participants.
The European Parliament voted Wednesday in favour of a target that would see renewables account for 35 per cent of energy usage in the European Union by 2030, which was well above the initial proposal of 27 per cent. While such a move could be supportive for agricultural commodities, the MPs also backed a proposal to ban palm oil from use in motor fuel. That weighed on palm oil and other international vegetable oil markets, including canola.
About 19,364 canola contracts traded on Wednesday, which compares with Tuesday when 11,996 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 15,302 of the contracts traded.
Soybean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade settled narrowly mixed on Wednesday, as support from gains in soymeal was countered by losses in soyoil.
The latest forecasts out of Argentina calling for some beneficial moisture across a large portion of the key soybean growing regions accounted for some early selling pressure. Large production prospects out of Brazil are also overhanging the market, with the harvest already in its early stages in some areas.
The USDA reported a sale of 130,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans to unknown destinations this morning, which provided some support.
Chart-based short-covering helped take corn to its highest levels in two weeks on Wednesday. Solid end user demand contributed to the gains.
Wheat was also higher, as ideas that recent losses were overdone provided some support.
Persistent weather concerns in the U.S. winter wheat growing regions were also supportive, with a lack of snow and moisture keeping the possibility of winterkill at the top of traders’ minds.
However, the U.S. continues to miss out on export opportunities.
