By Dave Sims, Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, October 12 – The ICE Futures Canada canola market was stronger on Thursday, taking strength from a USDA report that was deemed bullish for U.S. soybeans. The report lowered the official estimate for soybean yields to 49.5 bushels an acre. That’s down from the previous forecast of 49.9 bushels.
Gains in the vegetable oil market were supportive for canola.
Wet conditions in the U.S. Plains are slowing down the soybean harvest, which was supportive.
However, the USDA report also raised its estimate for soybean plantings in the U.S., which was bearish.
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Around 44,085 canola contracts were traded on Thursday, which compares with Wednesday when around 26,559 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 29,868 of the contracts traded.
Milling wheat, barley and durum were all untraded.
Settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric tonne.
The soybean market finished 20 to 26 cents per bushel higher on Thursday after the USDA released a supply and demand report that surprised investors. Many in the trade expected the report to be bearish, but the USDA surprised everyone by lowering the soybean yield from 49.9 bushels an acre to 49.5.
The market also took strength from the excessively dry regions in northern Brazil.
The agency did leave its previous U.S. production forecast of 4.43 billion bushels untouched.
Corn ended two to three cents higher on Thursday, enjoying spillover support from soybeans.
The USDA actually raised its corn production estimates to 14.28 billion bushels, which was up from the September forecast.
Elsewhere, China lowered its corn production forecast to 210 million tonnes.
Wheat finished two to three cents lower as the market was pressured by the USDA forecast which raised its estimate for global wheat stocks to 268.1 million tonnes. The Russian crop in
particular is expected to be absolutely massive.
Soft wheat exports from the European Union, for the marketing year started July 1, came in 35 percent lower than the year before.
