By Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, Nov. 28 (CNS Canada) – ICE Futures Canada canola contracts settled with small gains on Tuesday, underpinned by strength in Chicago Board of Trade soyoil and a weaker tone in the Canadian dollar.
That combination helped crush margins improve on the day, according to a trader.
Chart signals added to the firmer tone, as Monday’s drop below some major moving averages uncovered support.
Statistics Canada releases its final production estimates of the year on December 6, and pre-report positioning accounted for some of the activity. Average trade estimates on the size of the canola crop are coming in at around 20 million tonnes.
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About 31,927 canola contracts traded on Tuesday, which compares with Monday when 20,851 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 18,822 of the contracts traded.
Soybean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade moved lower on Tuesday, with forecasts calling for much needed rain in dry areas of Argentina behind some of the weakness.
Chart-based selling contributed to the declines, with no real fresh fundamental news to provide direction.
The USDA announced an export sale of 130,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans to unknown destinations, providing some support.
Bearish chart signals weighed on corn, with the December contract touching fresh lows. Positioning ahead of the delivery period accounted for some of the activity in the nearby contract.
The U.S. corn harvest was 95 per cent complete in the latest weekly report, which was slightly off the 98 percent average for this time of year.
The improving South American weather conditions kept corn under pressure. However, bargain hunting at the lows provided support.
Wheat futures were mixed, with Chicago and Kansas City contracts bouncing off of fresh contract lows to end with small gains, while Minneapolis moved lower.
Large world supplies and poor demand for U.S. wheat weighed on values for most of the session.
However, declining condition ratings for the country’s winter wheat crop provided some underlying support, with 50 per cent now rated good to excellent from 52 per cent last week.
