By Phil Franz-Warkentin, MarketsFarm
Winnipeg, March 4 (MarketsFarm) – ICE Futures canola contracts were narrowly mixed at Monday’s close, seeing some consolidation to start the week after bouncing around in choppy activity.
After losing roughly C$30 per tonne last week, canola was looking overdone to the downside, according to traders. Speculators were backing away from the sell side, while improving crush margins brought in some end-user bargain hunting.
Gains in Chicago Board of Trade soybeans and a softer tone in the Canadian dollar were also supportive for canola.
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However, soyoil was weaker, which put some pressure on values.
Concerns over increasing diplomatic tensions between Canada and China also weighed on values, according to participants.
About 21,710 canola contracts traded on Monday, which compares with Friday when 49,095 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 11,310 of the contracts traded.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were stronger on Monday.
Optimism over improving trade relations between the United States and China helped underpin the market, with a deal to lift tariffs reportedly getting closer.
Weekly U.S. soybean export inspections were solid at about 850,000 tonnes, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, with China a major buyer. However, the movement was down on both the week and year.
CORN futures were firmer, seeing a modest correction after dropping to contract lows last week.
The USDA reported a private sale of 100,500 tonnes of corn to Colombia this morning.
Weekly corn export inspections of just under 900,000 tonnes were up on the week, but below what moved during the same week last year.
WHEAT futures ended mostly lower, after trading to both sides of unchanged. The largest losses were in Minneapolis spring wheat as the spreads between the three U.S. wheat markets saw some adjustment.
The USDA reported weekly US wheat export inspections of only 440,000 tonnes, which was well below what moved the previous week. However, recent price declines were thought to be bringing in some more buying interest.
Australia’s ABARES pegged wheat production for 2019/20 at 23.9 million tonnes, which would be a considerable improvement from the 17.3 million tonnes of wheat grown in Australia for the current marketing year.
