By Phil Franz-Warkentin, MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, Sept. 4 (MarketsFarm) – The ICE Futures canola market was steady to lower on Friday, as traders squared positions ahead of the Labour Day long weekend.
Losses in Chicago Board of Trade soyoil, a firmer tone in the Canadian dollar, and seasonal harvest pressure all weighed on values.
Speculative profit-taking was another feature, as canola ran into technical resistance to the upside. However, the general trend remains pointed higher, making any declines a buying opportunity from a chart standpoint.
Stocks data released by Statistics Canada did little to move the market. Canadian canola stocks as of July 31, 2020, were pegged at 2.7 million tonnes by the government agency. That was about 34 per cent below the previous year’s level, but slightly above the five-year average.
Read Also
ICE canola making modest gains
Glacier FarmMedia | MarketsFarm – Canola futures on the Intercontinental Exchange were higher on Friday morning as they received support from…
About 23,774 canola contracts traded on Thursday, which compares with Thursday when 16,892 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 13,940 of the contracts traded.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were up slightly on Friday, with pre-weekend positioning a feature.
The United States Department of Agriculture announced private export sales of 318,000 tonnes of soybeans to China this morning. A 175,000 tonne soymeal sale to the Philippines was also announced.
Ideas that recent hot and dry Midwestern weather would cut into the yield prospects for the U.S. crop remained supportive.
The USDA releases its latest production estimates on September 11. Pre-report estimates generally call for downward revisions to both the soybean and corn production estimates.
CORN futures were also supported by positioning ahead of the long weekend, solid export demand, and expectations for declining yield estimates in next week’s USDA report.
Recent Midwestern weather concerns were also supportive, although forecasts calling for much needed rain next week kept the gains in check
WHEAT futures were mostly lower, as the market continued to back away from the highs hit earlier this week
Canadian wheat stocks as of July 31 came in at 5.03 million tonnes, which was down by 14.6 per cent on the year, according to a report from Statistics Canada. That was largely tied to a 63 per cent decline in durum, with other wheat stocks up 6.6 per cent from a year ago.
Russia’s wheat crop was forecast at 82.6 million tonnes by private consultancy Sovecon. That would be up by 1.2 million tonnes from an earlier forecast.
