By Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, Sept. 21 (CNS Canada) – ICE Futures Canada canola contracts settled with losses on Thursday, as hedge selling came forward late in the session to weigh on prices.
Recent cool and wet harvest-delaying weather in parts of Western Canada were still supportive, but the forecasts are turning a bit more favourable over the next week. Farmer deliveries remain steady as well, despite any adverse harvest weather, limiting the need for end users to bid up the market right now.
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Losses in Chicago Board of Trade soyoil put spillover pressure on canola, according to participants, although soybeans were steady in the US.
The Canadian dollar was down by roughly half a cent relative to its US counterpart, which helped limit the eventual declines in canola.
About 12,701 canola contracts traded on Thursday, which compares with Wednesday when 13,246 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 9,018 of the contracts traded.
Milling wheat, durum, and barley were all untraded, although prices were revised after the close.
Soybeans posted small gains on Thursday, after chopping around within a narrow range throughout the session.
Solid weekly US soybean export sales, of more than 2.3 million tonnes, provided underlying support as the export business came in well above expectations. The USDA also reported an additional sale of 132,000 tonnes to China this morning.
However, losses in soyoil put some pressure on beans.
Uncertainty over new crop production also weighed on prices, as harvest operations get underway across the Midwest and traders wait to get a better handle on the size of this year’s crop.
Corn remained stuck within a rather narrow range, as traders showed a reluctance to push values too far one way or the other as the harvest gets moving.
Weekly US corn export sales of about half a million tonnes were below trade guesses, which put some pressure on values.
Wheat was higher on the day, as speculative short-covering came forward to provide support. Tight supplies of higher protein wheat continued to lend relative strength to the Minneapolis futures.
Dryness in Australia and excessive moisture in Argentina were also supportive.
However, world wheat supplies remain large overall, with seeding weather in the southern Plains looking good for next year’s US winter wheat crop.
Weekly US wheat export sales of about 300,000 tonnes were at the low end of pre-report expectations.
