By Glen Hallick, MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, June 17 (MarketsFarm) – Canola futures on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) fell hard on Friday in heavy trading, as tumbling crude oil prices weakened North American oilseeds.
Losses in Chicago soybeans and especially sharp declines in soyoil weighed on canola values. A moderate pull back in Malaysian palm oil added to the decreases. Meanwhile, European rapeseed was mostly higher and there were gains in Chicago soymeal.
Seasonal pressure added to decline as spring planting across the Prairies is largely complete.
Read Also
North American grain/oilseed review: Canola falls Friday
ICE Futures canola market was weaker on Friday, settling at its weakest levels in two weeks. Speculative selling was a…
Those weaker crude oil prices, along with sharp upticks in the United States dollar, pulled the Canadian dollar below 77 U.S. cents. At mid-afternoon, the loonie fell to 76.76 U.S. cents, compared to Thursday’s close of 77.35.
There were 34,263 contracts traded on Friday, which compares with Thursday when 20,733 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 21,566 contracts traded.
Settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric tonne.
Price Change
Canola Jul 1,047.80 dn 25.70
Nov 1,000.30 dn 22.80
Jan 1,006.70 dn 21.50
Mar 1,011.90 dn 19.40
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) were lower on Friday, due to steep drops in global crude oil prices that especially weakened soyoil.
Planalytics pegged its estimate of U.S. soybean yields at 51 bushels per acre (bu/ac.), with Iowa at 58.1 BPA and Illinois at 60.4. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) currently forecast nation-wide soybean yields at 51.5 bu/ac.
The U.S. markets will be closed on June 20 for the Juneteenth holiday with trading scheduled to reopen that evening.
In Argentina, grain processors and exporters want the government to make permanent the recent biofuel blending requirement. On Wednesday, the government increased the requirement to 12.5 per cent for two months.
The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange (BAGE) estimated the Argentine soybean harvest was 99 per cent complete, with production at 43.3 million tonnes.
CORN futures turned lower on Friday, after trading higher for a good part of today’s session.
The USDA said there were two private sales of corn. One was for 105,664 tonnes of old crop corn to unknown destinations and other was for 144,907 tonnes of new crop to Costa Rica.
Planalytics forecast U.S. corn yields at 177 bu/ac., the same as the USDA.
The BAGE placed the Argentine corn harvest at 37 per cent finished, with total production pointing towards 49 million tonnes.
WHEAT futures were down hard on Friday, due to harvest pressure in the U.S. and Europe.
The French soft wheat crop lost another point, as it slipped to 65 per cent good to excellent due to hot and dry conditions.
The BAGE warned the drought in Argentina could result in fewer planted wheat acres. The BAGE cut its estimate from 16.31 million acres to 15.81 million, noting more than 47 per cent of the new crop has already been seeded.
