By Phil Franz-Warkentin, MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, Feb. 17 (MarketsFarm) – The ICE Futures canola market was stronger on Friday, boosted by chart-based buying as speculators adjusted positions ahead of the long weekend.
The canola market will be closed Monday, Feb. 20, for Louis Riel Day, while markets in the United States will be closed for Presidents’ Day.
Strength in Malaysian palm oil and European rapeseed futures provided spillover support for canola, with Chicago soybeans also up on the day. However, losses in soyoil did temper the gains in canola to some extent.
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Weekly Canadian canola exports of 181,800 tonnes during the week ended Feb. 12 were down by 13 per cent from the previous week, although crop-year-to-date exports of 4.69 million tonnes remain well ahead of the 3.60 million moved by the same point the previous year.
About 31,794 canola contracts traded on Friday, which compares with Thursday when 44,049 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 15,762 of the contracts traded.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade held onto small gains on Friday despite losses in soyoil as traders adjusted positions ahead of the long weekend.
The United States Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (USDA-ERS) released 10-year projections for U.S. soybeans, forecasting an 87-million-acre crop in 2023 with yields of 52 bushels per acre.
Uncertain production prospects out of Argentina remained a feature in the background of the soybean market given the ongoing heat and dryness in the country. The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange placed the crop at only nine per cent good-to-excellent, which was down from 13 per cent a week ago.
CORN traded to both sides of unchanged, settling with small advances.
Argentina’s corn crop was 100 per cent seeded, but condition ratings dipped to nine per cent good-to-excellent from 11 per cent the previous week.
The USDA announced private export sales of 120,800 tonnes of corn to unknown destinations this morning.
The ERS is using a baseline projection of 92 million acres for U.S. corn in 2023, with yields at 181.5 bushels per acre.
WHEAT was mixed, with gains in Kansas City hard red winter wheat, and a steadier tone in the Minneapolis and Chicago futures.
Recent moisture was disappointing for much of the U.S. Plains, with the ongoing dryness raising some concerns over the state of the winter wheat crop.
The USDA will hold its annual outlook forum in Washington next week, with many analysts anticipating a sizeable increase in U.S. wheat area on the year.
Uncertainty over Black Sea grain movement remained a supportive feature in the background, with the agreement allowing Ukrainian grain movement through the Black Sea set to expire in March.
