• The nearby May contract dipped below its 20-day moving average in early activity but moved back above that chart point as the day progressed.
• Chicago soyoil traded just under contract highs, with the ongoing uncertainty over the war in the Middle East keeping some caution in global markets — including vegetable oils.
• Speculative fund traders are holding a large net long position in canola of just over 100,000 contracts, according to the latest Commitments of Traders report.
• The Canadian dollar was slightly firmer at midday but remains near four-month lows relative to its United States counterpart. The softer currency is supportive for crush margins, which have widened to record levels over the past month.

• An estimated 20,700 canola contracts traded as of 10:40 CDT.

Prices in Canadian dollars per metric tonne at 10:40 CDT:

Canola            May   727.30    up  0.30

                  Jul   740.30    up  0.30

                  Nov   734.00    up  0.20

                  Jan   739.90    up  0.10

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Beef prices set records this year after the nation’s cattle supply dropped to a 75-year low, leading to record prices for meatpackers such as JBS to buy cattle to slaughter, despite benefiting from the climbing prices.

WHY IT MATTERS: The strike at JBS’s Greely, Colorado site has weighed, somewhat, on U.S. beef prices.

The union representing about 3,800 plant workers said the new round of talks would resume on April 9 and 10 after last month’s strike to press for wages that reflect inflation and a halt to company charges for replacing protective equipment.

“Workers remain united and will continue to fight until JBS fully ends its unfair labor practices,” said Kim Cordova, president of the local union representing the Greeley workers.

It is calling for a contract offer that protects workers, shows them the respect they deserve, and pays them a livable wage, he added in a statement.

There had been no new deal or change to the original offer, a JBS spokesperson told Reuters.

“We are pleased to welcome our team members back and are preparing to resume and ramp up operations at the Greeley plant next week,” the spokesperson added in an email.

The strike dealt a blow to U.S. processing capacity, after Tyson Foods closed a beef plant in Nebraska this year and reduced operations at a Texas facility.

The dispute with the workers, represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 union, comes as meatpackers typically seek to boost efficiency by running plants at peak capacity to offset hefty running costs.

— Reporting by Gnaneshwar Rajan and Chandni Shah in Bengaluru

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• Canada’s merchandise trade deficit widened to C$5.7 billion in February from C$4.2 billion the previous month, marking the largest deficit since August 2025, reported Statistics Canada. Imports were up 8.4 per cent on the month to a record high of C$72.1 billion, while exports increased by 6.4 per cent to C$66.3 billion.
• A major petrochemical plant in Iran’s South Pars natural gas field was attacked by Israel on Monday, said Israeli officials. A deadline from the United States for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz is set for later Monday, with President Donald Trump threatening to bomb power plants. Iran responded to the Israeli attack with missile fire on Israel and neighbouring Gulf countries.
• The Artemis II is set to conduct its flyby of the moon on Monday, with the crew of four astronauts, including Canadian Jeremy Hansen, becoming the most distant humans from earth in history.

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     The loonie was at US$0.7190 or US$1=C$1.3908 as of 8:44 a.m. CDT, compared to Thursday’s close at US$0.7185 or US$1=C$1.3918. The United States Dollar Index was down 0.17 of a point at 99.86.

     Crude oil prices were slightly higher after the U.S. and Iran rejected a ceasefire proposal brokered by Pakistan to end the war over the weekend. U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to “rain hell” on Iran if a deal is not reached by Tuesday.

     West Texas Intermediate advanced US$0.71 at US$112.25 per barrel. Brent crude oil added US$0.22 at US$109.25/barrel.

     The TSX/S&P Composite Index gained 19.78 points at 33,128.00.

     Gold was up US$17.70 per ounce at US$4,697.40.

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Glacier FarmMedia – Canola futures on the Intercontinental Exchange were lower on Monday morning, pulled down by weaker crude oil prices. Trading resumed after Friday’s holiday.

Crude was falling back as the trade waited for news on whether there will be talks between the United States and Iran or not.

Among the vegetable oils, Malaysian palm oil was slightly lower and there were gains in the Chicago soy complex. With the Easter Monday holiday in Europe, MATIF rapeseed was not being traded.

The May canola contract was virtually on par with its 20-day moving average, while it remained handily above its other technical levels.

Canola crush margins pushed higher, with the May position adding more than C$14 at almost C$337 per tonne above the futures.

Canola exports for the week ended March 29 came to 232,100 tonnes, slightly higher than the previous week the Canadian Grain Commission reported. Year-to-date exports were almost 5.31 million tonnes versus 6.86 million the year before.

The Canadian dollar was back trading on Monday morning, with the loonie edging up to 71.90 U.S. cents compared to Thursday’s close of 71.85.

Approximately 8,250 contracts had been traded by 8:36 CDT and prices in Canadian dollars per metric tonne were:     

                          Price      Change

Canola            May     724.60     dn  2.40

                  Jul     737.60     dn  2.40

                  Nov     730.30     dn  3.50

                  Jan     736.20     dn  3.60

To access the latest futures prices, go to https://www.producer.com/markets-futures-prices/.

Stay informed with our daily market videos. Each video quickly covers key futures moves, price trends, and market signals that matter to Canadian farmers. Get clear, timely insights in just a few minutes. Bookmark https://www.producer.com/markets-futures-prices/videos.

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Glacier FarmMedia – The Canadian dollar closed lower on Thursday, pulled down by a stronger United States dollar.

The loonie finished at US$0.7185 or US$1=C$1.3918 compared to Wednesday’s close of US$0.7200 or US$1=C$1.3888. On the U.S. Dollar Index, the greenback was up 0.392 of a point at 99.850.

Benchmark crude oil prices were stronger on Thursday afternoon, as the trade was concerned with the Middle East war continuing with more U.S. attacks on Iran.

West Texas Intermediate jumped US$11.67 at US$111.79 per barrel, and Brent crude advanced US$7.59 at US$108.75.

Statistics Canada reported on Thursday that the country’s merchandise trade deficit expanded to C$5.7 billion in February. Also, Canada’s surplus of service imports and exports improved to C$400 million that month.

The TSX Composite Index added 150.27 points on Thursday, finishing at 33,1087.22.

Gold dropped 113.50 at US$4,699.60 per ounce.

The markets in Canada and the U.S. will be closed tomorrow for Good Friday.

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The United States Department of Agriculture reported 23,500 tonnes of old crop wheat, a marketing-year low, were sold for export during the week ended March 26, down 51 per cent from the week before and well below pre-report trade estimates. Meanwhile, 272,800 tonnes of new crop wheat were sold, near the higher end of trade expectations.

U.S. Census data said 1.94 million tonnes of wheat were exported in February, a six-year high for the month.

CORN prices were lower for the fifth session in their last six.

The USDA reported 1.149 million tonnes of old crop corn were sold for export last week, down eight per cent from the week before but within trade expectations. In addition, 102,600 tonnes of new crop corn were also sold, exceeding trade guesses.

There were 6.77 million tonnes of U.S. corn exported in February, a record high for the month.

The USDA said the February corn grind was at 424.8 million bushels, up 0.7 per cent from last year. Corn used for ethanol so far this marketing year totalled 2.744 billion bushels, down seven million from last year.

Bloomberg reported that China purchased Argentine corn for the first time in 15 years.

StoneX raised its estimate for Brazil’s first corn crop 1.5 per cent to 27.2 million tonnes but trimmed its safrinha corn crop forecast by 0.7 per cent to 106 million. The firm projected Brazil’s overall 2025-26 corn production at 135.7 million tonnes, down 2.9 per cent from the year before.

SOYBEANS were down for the second consecutive day but remained in their trading ranges.

Export sales of old crop U.S. soybeans were 353,300 tonnes last week, within trade estimates and down 49 per cent from the previous week. There were no new crop export sales.

There were 377,200 tonnes of old crop U.S. soymeal sold for export, within trade expectations and down 40 per cent from the week before.

Old crop U.S. soyoil export sales totalled 1,100 tonnes last week, near the lower end of trade expectations and up 53 per cent from the previous week.

A total of 4.195 million tonnes of U.S. soybeans were exported in February, up 34.6 per cent from a year ago. There were also 1.37 million tonnes of soymeal and 71,814 tonnes of soyoil shipped.

The USDA reported 214.2 million bushels of soybeans were crushed in the month of February, up 13 per cent from last year but down six per cent from January. The average daily crush of 7.65 million bushels was an all-time record. The crush for the first half of the marketing year was 1.334 billion bushels, up 8.3 per cent from last year.

StoneX increased its estimate for Brazil’s soybean harvest 1.1 per cent to 179.7 million tonnes. 

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United States President Donald Trump said in a televised address on Wednesday that his country would hit Iran hard over the next two to three weeks, but did not say when he expected the war would end. As a result, crude oil rose between US$7 to US$12 per barrel Thursday afternoon.

An analyst said crude oil’s climb spilled over into vegetable oils, including Chicago soyoil as well as canola. Chicago soyoil gained nearly two U.S. cents per pound, while European rapeseed and Malaysian palm oil were higher.

There will be no trading tomorrow due to the Good Friday holiday.

At mid-afternoon, the Canadian dollar was down more than one-tenth of a U.S. cent compared to Wednesday’s close.

There were 57,301 canola contracts traded on Thursday, compared to Wednesday when 56,844 contracts changed hands. Spreads accounted for 39,832 contracts in today’s trade.

Settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric tonne.

May 727.00 up  8.50

Jul 740.00 up  8.20

Nov 733.80 up  8.30

Jan 739.80 up  8.40

Spread trade prices are in Canadian dollars:

May/Jul 12.80 under to 13.30 under 11,665

May/Nov  5.40 under to  7.30 under    822

May/Jan 11.80 under to 12.50 under      9

May/Mar 15.50 under to 17.00 under      4

May/Jul 16.40 under to 17.60 under      1

Jul/Nov  8.00  over to  5.90  over  5,744

Jul/Jan  2.00  over to  0.10  over     17

Jul/Mar  2.40 under to  4.00 under      2

Nov/Jan  5.50 under to  6.30 under  1,384

Jan/Mar  3.70 under to  4.50 under    202

Mar/May  0.70 under to  0.90 under     28

May/Jul  0.10  over                    38

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Planting of wheat, canola and other crops is set to gather pace this month across much of Australia and farmers need ample supplies of crop nutrients to support early growth.

The price of urea in Australia was quoted around A$1,350 (C$1,298) per ton this week, up about 60 per cent since the beginning of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, analysts said. Australian diesel prices are up 88 per cent over the same period.

“Farmers are trying to reduce fertilizer application and switching planting from nitrogen hungry crops like wheat and canola into feed barley,” said Dennis Voznesenski, an agricultural analyst at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

“Some are also reducing planted area, but this so far is minimal,” he said.

Australia’s wheat planting could drop by 10 per cent to 12 per cent given the current conditions, from 12.4 million hectares a year ago, an agricultural broker and an analyst said. Cultivation of canola is also likely to decline despite higher returns, they said. Both declined to be named.

Australia is the world’s fourth-largest wheat exporter and No. 2 supplier of canola, selling to importers across Asia, the Middle East and Europe. It also sells crops such as barley, chickpeas and pulses.

Straight of Hormuz is fertilizer choke point

Farmers worldwide are struggling to secure fertilizer supplies as planting season in key countries gets underway, with the Strait of Hormuz, which carries 30 per cent of globally traded fertilizers, severely disrupted by the Iran war.

Bank of America warned that the conflict threatens 65 per cent to 70 per cent of global supplies of urea, a key nitrogen fertilizer, with prices already up 30 per cent to 40 per cent.

U.S. farmers plan to plant less corn and more soybeans in 2026 than last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said this week. China has curbed fertilizer exports, while India is tapping alternative sources to boost supplies for summer-sown crops.

Corn, wheat and canola usually require higher application of urea than barley and pulses.

“Australia typically relies on China for urea, but export curbs have limited shipments,” said StoneX analyst Josh Linville.

“Buyers turned to Indonesia, only to face further constraints there and by the time they sought supplies from the Middle East, the war had already started and the Strait of Hormuz had closed.”

Crops need fertilizer at the start of planting as well as in development and pre-maturity stages. Crops planted in April and May are harvested in November and December.

“It is a big issue as the cost of farming has risen sharply in the last one month,” said Tobin Gorey, founder of commodities consultancy Cornucopia in Sydney.

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