By Dave Sims and Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, Apr. 13 – The ICE Futures Canada canola market posted solid-gains to end the holiday-shortened trading week. Advances in US soybeans and soymeal helped boost prices.
“Funds were adjusting their short positions from May to July, which was supportive,” according to a trader in Winnipeg.
Positioning ahead of the long weekend was also a feature.
Ideas that canola stocks are getting tight helped prop up
prices.
The Canadian dollar was nearly a quarter of a cent weaker relative to its US counterpart, which made canola more attractive to domestic crushers and out-of-country buyers.
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However, losses in soyoil were bearish for prices.
The recent hike in Brazil’s soybean production estimates undermined prices.
Around 32,339 canola contracts were traded on Thursday, which
compares with Wednesday when around 31,403 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for about 28,158 of the contracts traded.
Milling wheat, barley and durum were all untraded.
Settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric tonne.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were up by six to eight cents per bushel on Thursday, with chart-based buying the feature as speculators kept to the buy side ahead of the Easter weekend.
Markets will be closed April 14 for the Good Friday holiday, and pre-weekend positioning was a feature.
Concerns over excessive moisture and flooding in parts of Argentina added to the firmer tone in soybeans, as harvest operations are being delayed in the South American country and there may also be yield losses.
Weekly US soybean export sales of 402,000 tonnes came in at the low end of trade estimates, which tempered the gains.
SOYOIL futures settled with small losses on Thursday.
SOYMEAL futures were stronger on Thursday.
CORN futures in Chicago were up by one to two cents per bushel on Thursday, as continued concerns over seeding delays in parts of the Midwest provided support.
Forecasts remain wet across much of the Corn Belt through to the end of April, which will delay spring planting and could see some intended corn acres shift into soybeans instead. Soybeans are typically seeded later than corn.
Weekly US corn export sales of 738,000 tonnes were below average trade estimates.
WHEAT futures in Chicago were down by one to three cents per bushel on Friday. However, spring wheat bids in Minneapolis saw modest strength.
The large world wheat carryout forecast by the USDA on Wednesday continued to put some pressure on wheat prices, especially as crop conditions for the US winter wheat crop are thought to be improving.
Weekly US wheat export sales came in near the high end of pre-report estimates, at 422,000 tonnes.
