By Phil Franz-Warkentin, MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, Sept. 8 (MarketsFarm) – The ICE Futures canola market was settled with small gains on Wednesday after trading to both sides of unchanged in choppy activity.
The Chicago Board of Trade soy complex was also mixed, providing little direction for the canola market.
While seasonal harvest pressure was somewhat bearish, disappointing yields and the small production prospects remained supportive overall.
Canadian canola ending stocks for 2020/21 were pegged at 1.77 million tonnes by Statistics Canada in a report on Wednesday morning. That would be roughly half of the previous year’s carryout, but still well above pre-report trade estimates.
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About 25,651 canola contracts traded on Wednesday, which compares with Tuesday when 18,038 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 17,168 of the contracts traded.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade traded to both sides of unchanged on Wednesday, settling with small gains in the most active months.
The United States Department of Agriculture reported private export sales of 106,000 tonnes of soybeans to China this morning. While the business was supportive, nearby export movement remains uncertain as facilities on the U.S. Gulf Coast continue to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Ida.
Relatively favourable Midwestern weather conditions and the looming harvest also weighed on prices. The U.S. soybean crop was rated 57 per cent good to excellent in the latest weekly report, which was up one point from the previous week.
CORN was narrowly mixed with the bias to the downside as traders adjusted positions ahead of Friday’s report. Declining crop conditions provided some support despite the generally favourable Midwestern weather.
The U.S. corn crop dropped one point in the good-to-excellent category on the week, with 59 per cent of the crop now in the top two categories.
WHEAT futures were lower, pressured somewhat by the larger-than-expected Canadian stocks.
The U.S. spring wheat harvest was 95 per cent complete as of this past Sunday, up 12 points from the average for this time of year, according to the USDA. Winter wheat seeding was just getting started in the country, at 5 per cent done.
Canadian wheat ending stocks beat expectations, at 5.7 million tonnes. That was up 3.7 per cent on the year.
