By Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, Nov. 29 (CNS Canada) – ICE Futures Canada canola contracts posted small gains on Wednesday, as weakness in the Canadian dollar provided support.
The currency moved below 78 U.S. cents, which helped crush margins improve and also made exports more attractive to international markets.
Supportive technical signals contributed to the gains, as the January contract moved off of the 100-day moving average.
However, a softer tone in Chicago Board of Trade soyoil tempered the upside in canola.
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Positioning ahead of next week’s Statistics Canada production report was a feature, with most industry participants expecting the canola crop will be revised higher from earlier estimates.
About 23,093 canola contracts traded on Wednesday, which compares with Tuesday when 31,927 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 14,618 of the contracts traded.
Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures settled within half a cent of unchanged on Wednesday, with the bias to the downside at the close as relatively favourable South American weather conditions weighed on values.
However, solid export demand provided some support, with the USDA announcing a private sale of 263,000 tonnes of soybeans to China this morning.
The USDA also released baseline acreage projections for the next decade, forecasting U.S. soybean seedings in 2018 at 91.0 million acres. That would be up from from 90.2 million in 2017. By 2027, the government agency predicts soybean area rising to 91.5 million acres.
Corn prices moved higher on Wednesday, as end-user bargain hunting helped values recover off of nearby lows. The USDA announced an export sale of 101,600 tonnes of corn to unknown destinations.
The USDA’s long-term projections peg corn area in the country rising to 91.0 million acres in 2018, which would be up by 600,000 acres from this year. However, total corn area is expected to decline to 87.5 million by 2027.
Wheat was steady to higher on the day, with gains in Chicago and Kansas City and a steadier tone in Minneapolis spring wheat.
The technicals remain bearish in spring wheat after yesterday’s selloff, while the winter wheat markets were due for a bit of a correction.
Forecasts calling for better moisture conditions in both Australia and the dry southern U.S. Plains put some pressure on values.
Total wheat area in the U.S. is forecast at 45 million acres in 2018, which would be down by one million acres on the year.
