WINNIPEG, Nov. 26 (MarketsFarm) – Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) Futures canola contracts finished lower on Tuesday, following trends set earlier in the week.
Prices began the week lower, pressured by the weeklong CN Rail strike. The strike was said to be Canada’s longest railwork stoppage in a decade. However, CN Rail announced on Tuesday morning that some workers will return to work this afternoon, and full operations will resume on Wednesday.
Many groups, including representatives from the agriculture industry, encouraged the federal government to intervene in the strike. The Agriculture Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) said the strike has caused headaches for farmers and threatened the remainder of the shipping season.
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One Winnipeg-based trader said, the announcement that the strike is being settled, has allowed canola prices to stay a bit firmer today. Short coverings have been a feature in trading, due to the uncertainty posed by the rail strike.
On Tuesday, 22,485 contracts were traded, which compares with Monday when 19,887 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 19,294 contracts traded.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) were lower on Tuesday as there is still no concrete deal for Phase One of the trade agreement between the United States and China.
China has exponentially increased their soybean imports from Argentina. In October, China imported almost 960,000 tonnes of soybeans. Argentina is the world’s third-largest soybean exporter. China has been importing soybeans from Brazil, but inventories are expected to deplete in coming weeks.
The weekly crop progress report from the USDA said soybeans are 94 per cent harvested. North Dakota is furthest behind in the soybean harvest, due to winter weather delaying harvest activity. Soybeans in the state are just 89 per cent harvested.
CORN futures were weaker at midday, despite some export sales. Yesterday, South Korea purchased 60,000 tonnes of corn.
The corn harvest in North Dakota is also significantly behind schedule. On average, it’s about 91 per cent harvested around this time. However, this year, the crop is currently only 30 per cent harvested.
The Governors’ Biofuels Coalition has implored the Trump administration to reduce toxic aromatics in gasoline through the use of higher ethanol blends. The coalition said utilizing clean octane from biofuels instead of aromatics’ “dirty octane” would be beneficial for the ethanol industry. Governors from 22 states are a part of this coalition.
WHEAT futures were lower on Tuesday, despite reduced production estimates from both Australia and Argentina due to prolonged hot, dry weather. Also, Russia cut their 2019 crop production forecast by 3 million tonnes.
U.S. winter wheat was rated as 52 per cent good to excellent, which was steady from the week prior.
The weekly crop progress report showed the winter wheat crop is 87 per cent emerged, which is just slightly behind the average rate.
