By Glen Hallick, MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, April 28 (MarketsFarm) – Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) canola futures were lower on Wednesday, in a volatile session that saw wide swings up and down for some of the active months.
A trader noted there was rolling out of the May contracts in canola as well as those for Chicago corn and the soy complex.
At mid-afternoon the Canadian dollar was stronger and weighing on canola values. The loonie jumped to 81.17 U.S. cents, compared to Tuesday’s close of 80.63.
Tight old crop canola supplies remained a concern for the trade, with the likelihood of the issue continuing into the 2021/22 marketing year. Despite planted acres projected to rise to 21.5 million, it’s believed that won’t produce enough canola to alleviate the problem.
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There were 22,132 contracts traded on Wednesday, which compares with Tuesday when 21,079 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 6,696 contracts traded.
Settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric tonne.
Price Change
Canola May 895.00 dn 6.90
Jul 833.40 dn 3.70
Nov 687.20 dn 6.70
Jan 685.40 dn 6.20
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) were mixed in volatile trading on Wednesday, which saw gains in most of the old crop months and declines in the new crop positions. Such also applied to soyoil, but there were losses across the board in soymeal.
United States meat processor Perdue is set to import 31,450 tonnes of soybeans from Brazil. There are instances in the U.S. when it’s cheaper to import South American soybeans than to ship them from the U.S. Midwest. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) projected well over 900,000 tonnes of soybean imports for the 2020/21 marketing year.
Russia has been considering a 10-point cut to its export tax on soybeans to 20 per cent, but no less than US$100 per tonne. The current 30 per cent tax, at a minimum US$199/tonne, is scheduled to expire on June 30.
Below normal temperatures across Europe continued to slow the progress of the continent’s winter and spring crops.
CORN futures were lower on Wednesday, due to profit-taking.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported ethanol production at 945,000 barrels per day for the week ended April 23. That’s a 0.4 per cent increase from the previous week and up 76 per cent compared to the same week last year. Ethanol stocks dropped 3.5 per cent from the previous week at 19.7 million barrels. Current stocks were 13 per cent below those at this point a year ago.
Dry conditions continued to hamper Brazil’s safrinha corn crop as it enters the pollination stage. Revised estimates have pegged production at 100 million tonnes or less. The USDA’s April supply and demand report projected 109 million tonnes. The department’s next estimates are scheduled to come out on May 12.
South Korea issued an international tender for 279,000 tonnes of corn. It recently acquired 50,000 tonnes from Ukraine.
WHEAT futures were weaker on Wednesday, tumbling by double digits.
The wheat crop in the U.S. Northern Plains continued to struggle with dry conditions, while precipitation in the Southern Plains has helped the region’s winter wheat. Across the country, the pace of spring wheat planting is expected to increase.
The have been reports indicating that some countries, such as China and South Korea, have been moving away from corn for feed and switching to less expensive wheat.
