(Dave Bedard photo)

Fund short position hits six-month low in canola

CBOT soybeans show reduced net long

MarketsFarm — The speculative short position in ICE Futures canola fell to its smallest level in six months at the beginning of July, as fund traders covered short positions and put on some new longs. That’s according to the latest Commitments of Traders report from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). As of July […] Read more

ICE November 2023 canola with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola makes huge move

Prairies' dry patches add to upswing

MarketsFarm — Canola came out of Canada Day continuing to build on gains made going into the holiday, largely due to spillover from the Chicago soy complex. The U.S. Department of Agriculture last Friday released its planted acres report, which saw soybeans lose four million acres from the 87.5 million planted in 2022, leading to […] Read more


Wheat in progress west of Pathlow, Sask. on Aug. 1, 2022. (Dave Bedard photo)

Canadian canola, wheat area up on the year: StatCan

More soybean, corn acres also estimated

MarketsFarm — Canadian farmers planted more canola than earlier intentions, according to updated acreage estimates from Statistics Canada released Wednesday. Meanwhile, wheat plantings hit their highest level in more than two decades. Total canola plantings were estimated at 22.1 million acres by the government agency, which compares with the 21.6 million expected in April and […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Net short drops in canola as funds cover positions

Traders expand net longs in soy, corn

MarketsFarm — Speculative traders were busy covering short positions in ICE Futures canola during the week ended June 20, taking the net short position in the market to its smallest level in four months, according to the latest Commitments of Traders report from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). As of June 20, the […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Analysts expect little change in new StatCan numbers

Weather was 'pretty conducive to plantings'

MarketsFarm — Dry conditions in much of the Prairies this spring may leave seeding areas relatively unchanged ahead of Statistic Canada’s (StatCan) principal field crop report, due to be released Wednesday. It will be the second survey-based acreage report for the 2023-24 marketing year, after the first one was released in April. While growing conditions […] Read more

(Dave Bedard/File photo)

AAFC’s June supply/demand estimates mostly unchanged

Corn exports adjusted upward

MarketsFarm — Monthly supply/demand projections from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada were left mostly unchanged in June, as the department awaits updated acreage estimates from Statistics Canada at the end of the month. Only corn saw any adjustments in the numbers from May, with a 200,000-tonne increase in 2022-23 exports, now at 2.05 million tonnes, resulting […] Read more


ICE July 2023 canola with 20-day moving average (yellow line, right scale) and CBOT July 2023 soybean oil (dark green line, left scale). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola market rising into summer

New StatCan acreage estimates out next week

MarketsFarm — ICE Futures canola contracts have climbed steadily higher since their late-May lows, nearing chart resistance to the upside on the first day of summer. Updated renewable fuel targets released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency failed to live up to expectations, sparking a speculative selloff in soyoil. While the limit-down move in soyoil […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

ICE canola futures see record daily trade volume

Previous record trading day was in 2014

MarketsFarm — The ICE Futures canola market on Friday saw its busiest day ever, with over 90,000 contracts traded during the session, according to preliminary data. Intermonth spreading accounted for roughly half of the trade volumes on Friday as investors were busy rolling out of the front month. Daily trade volumes in canola are typically […] Read more


ICE July 2023 canola with 20- and 50-day moving averages. (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola will follow soyoil up or down

Prairie weather another guiding factor

MarketsFarm — Although canola prices have been somewhat erratic over the last weeks, they along with other oilseeds have generally rebounded, according to trader Ken Ball of PI Financial in Winnipeg. Ball commented there has been a good amount of short-covering in soyoil at the Chicago Board of Trade, as markets positioned themselves for an […] Read more

Viterra’s oilseed crush plant at Becancour, Que. (Viterra.com)

Bunge deal for Viterra to boost oilseed dominance, renewable diesel potential

Canada's Competition Bureau pledges to review deal

Chicago | Reuters — Bunge’s planned acquisition of Viterra would make the world’s biggest oilseed crusher even more dominant and secure a larger role in the expanding renewable diesel industry, although it may face competition hurdles. Under the deal to create an agricultural giant worth about $34 billion including debt, Bunge’s crushing capacity will increase […] Read more