North American Grain/Oilseed Review: Short-covering boosts canola

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Published: February 5, 2020

By Phil Franz-Warkentin, MarketsFarm

WINNIPEG, Feb. 5 (MarketsFarm) – ICE Futures canola contracts posted solid gains on Wednesday, recovering off of nearby lows for the third-straight session as speculators covered short positions in the oversold market.

Gains in Chicago Board of Trade soyoil and a slightly softer tone in the Canadian dollar contributed to the strength in canola. However, soyoil finished off its highs for the session, and soybean futures held closer to unchanged.

Canadian canola stocks, as of Dec. 31, 2019, were estimated at 14.3 million tonnes by Statistics Canada. The supplies were down 2.4 per cent compared to the previous year, but did not account for fields left unharvested this past fall. The uncertainty over how much canola will still be harvested in the spring muted the impact of the stocks data on the futures, according to participants.

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By Glen Hallick, MarketsFarm Glacier Farm Media MarketsFarm – Intercontinental Exchange canola futures were stronger on Thursday, in gleaning support…

About 31,636 canola contracts traded on Wednesday, which compares with Tuesday when 23,030 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 22,630 of the contracts traded.

SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade held onto small gains on Wednesday, as a rally in soyoil provided support.

Easing concerns over the coronavirus in China added to the firmer tone amid reports that researchers were getting closer to developing a vaccine. However, ongoing uncertainty over what the outbreak and resulting quarantines will mean for soybean demand going forward tempered the gains.

The advancing Brazilian harvest also put some pressure on values.

Canadian soybean stocks, as of Dec. 31, came in at 3.9 million tonnes, according to a report from Statistics Canada. That was down by about 400,000 from the previous year, but in line with the five-year average.

CORN settled with small losses in the most active months on Wednesday.

Weekly United States ethanol production came in at just over a billion barrels per day in the latest report, rising by 52,000 barrels from the previous week. Supplies of the renewable fuel tightened slightly despite the increased production.

Canadian corn stocks, as of Dec. 31, were pegged at 10.7 million tonnes by Statistics Canada. That was down by nearly a million tonnes from the previous year.

WHEAT futures were firmer on Wednesday, with the largest gains in Kansas City hard red winter wheat.

Canadian wheat stocks at the end of December came in at roughly 25 million tonnes, according to Statistics Canada. That was down slightly from the previous year, but still a million tonnes above the five year average.

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