Reuters / Canada’s supplies of canola were slightly tighter on Dec. 31 than a year earlier, but all-wheat supplies grew modestly, Statistics Canada has reported.
The calendar year-end stocks report is an indicator of how accurate StatsCan’s final production estimates were for the most recent harvest, along with how robust demand was late in the year.
The latest figures for wheat, canola and oats fell within the range of expectations.
“It’s amazing how everything is very close to year-ago levels,” said Ken Ball, futures and options broker at Union Securities in Winnipeg.
The trade was most interested in canola levels, with both domestic crushing and exports running ahead of last year’s pace. But cold, harsh weather in Europe and dryness in South America are more significant market influences right now, Ball said.
Canola stocks totalled 9.29 million tonnes, down 1.5 per cent from 9.43 million tonnes a year earlier. All-wheat stocks edged up 0.6 per cent to 20.96 million tonnes while oat supplies amounted to 2.03 million tonnes, down 14.5 per cent from last year.
