By Glen Hallick, MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, Jan. 2 (MarketsFarm) – Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) Futures canola contracts finished higher Thursday, due to support from Malaysian palm oil and Chicago soyoil.
However an analyst said remains to be seen if canola remains range-bound. He cautioned that with low volumes trading, any moves can easily be exaggerated.
The Canadian dollar weighed on values. By mid-afternoon Thursday, the loonie was unchanged at 76.99 U.S. cents.
There were 18,320 contracts traded on Thursday, which compares with Tuesday when 14,568 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 11,620 contracts traded.
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Settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric tonne.
Price Change
Canola Mar 480.00 up 1.90
May 489.10 up 1.60
Jul 494.80 up 1.00
Nov 498.00 up 0.70
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) were steady on Thursday, after dropping back from larger gains earlier in the session.
A lot of attention in the markets has remained on Jan. 15, when the United States and China are scheduled to sign their Phase One trade agreement in Washington. The exact details of the deal remain sketchy, but it’s widely believed that China will purchase US$40 billion in U.S. agricultural products. That could include 35 million to 40 million tonnes of soybeans, according to a report.
With the New Year’s holiday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) delayed its weekly export sales report to Friday. Estimates from Futures International pegged soybean sales between 500,000 to 700,000 tonnes. Soymeal sales were estimated to be 75,000 to 150,000 tonnes and soyoil at 15,000 to 30,000 tonnes.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on Tuesday that 558 million pounds of soyoil were produced in October. That’s down from 599 million pounds in September. Biodiesel production increased to 144 million gallons in October. That’s up by 2 million gallons from September.
CORN futures were higher on Thursday, pending the USDA’s crushing report.
The markets have been positioning themselves ahead of the USDA’s supply and demand report, to be released Jan. 10. The report will include revised data on the U.S. harvest. The corn harvest in the Northern Plains was badly delayed, especially in North Dakota with less than half of the crop harvested.
Futures International put U.S. corn export sales at 550,000 to 750,000 tonnes.
WHEAT futures were mixed on Thursday, with small gains for Chicago, but small losses for Minneapolis and Kansas City.
A weaker U.S. dollar has been helping wheat prices, which struggled to find sales throughout much of 2019. The greenback often losses ground to other global currencies at this time of the year.
Wheat could be a major winner in the Phase One deal. Although details are unknown, there is speculation that China could significantly boost its purchases of U.S. wheat.
Futures International placed U.S. wheat exports sales between 400,000 to 600,000 tonnes.
