By Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, Oct. 17 (CNS Canada) – ICE Futures Canada canola contracts managed to hold onto small gains on Tuesday, as solid end-user demand and supportive chart signals underpinned the futures.
Recent weakness in the Canadian dollar added to the firmer tone in canola, according to participants, as crush margins saw some improvement.
Weather concerns in parts of the Prairies added to the firmer tone, with heavy winds likely causing damage to any crops still left to be harvested.
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However, losses in Chicago Board of Trade soybeans tempered the upside, and canola finished well off its highs for the day.
About 24,405 canola contracts traded on Tuesday, which compares with Monday when 37,140 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 15,724 of the contracts traded.
Milling wheat, durum, and barley were all untraded, although prices were revised after the close.
Soybean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were lower on Tuesday, as values continued to back away from the nearby highs hit last week.
The US soybean crop was 49 per cent harvested as of this past Sunday, according to the weekly USDA progress report. While the progress was running behind average for this time of year, it was still in line with expectations.
Favourable harvest weather in the forecasts should allow US farmers to make good progress over the next week, which weighed on values.
Improving moisture conditions in Brazil were also bearish, as farmers there are in the early stages of seeding.
Corn held near unchanged for most of the day, although the bias was lower.
The US corn harvest was running well off the average pace, at just over a quarter done, according to the latest weekly report. Usually half of the corn crop would be off by now.
However, while wet weather has caused some delays, drier forecasts should allow farmers to make some good progress over the next few weeks.
Corn remains stuck in a sideways trading range from a chart perspective, with traders showing a reluctance to push values too far one way or the other.
Wheat was mixed, with gains in Minneapolis spring wheat and losses in the Chicago and Kansas City contracts.
The US winter wheat crop was only 60 per cent seeded, according to the latest USDA report, which compares with the average of 71 per cent done for this time of year. Kansas was running especially slow, with only 42 per cent of the winter wheat crop seeded in the major wheat growing state.
Large Russian production estimates remained a bearish influence in the wheat market, keeping US prices under pressure in order to be competitive in the export market.
