By Phil Franz-Warkentin, MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, April 20 (MarketsFarm) – The ICE Futures canola market
posted sharp losses for the second session in a row on Thursday as losses elsewhere spilled over to weigh on values.
Chicago soyoil and European rapeseed futures were both softer on the day, with declines in crude oil contributing to the bearish sentiment in world vegetable oils.
Speculative positioning also weighed on values, although relatively wide crush margins remained somewhat supportive on the other side.
A storm bringing snow to much of southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba will likely cause seeding delays in the region, especially if fields are slow to dry out due to cool temperatures in the forecasts.
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About 30,683 canola contracts traded on Thursday, which compares with Wednesday when 45,808 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 20,444 of the contracts traded.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were weaker on Thursday as a broad ‘risk off’ sentiment in global financial markets spilled into the grains and oilseeds.
Weekly United States export sales data was disappointing with only 100,100 tonnes of old crop business. That was down by 73 per cent on the week and well below pre-report expectations.
Large Brazilian supplies are thought to be starting to displace U.S. beans in the world export market.
The International Grains Council raised their estimate for 2023/24 world soybean production to 401 million tonnes, which would be up by two million from an earlier estimate and 31 million tonnes above the current crop.
CORN was also pressured by softer-than-expected weekly U.S. export sales.
U.S. corn sales for the week included 312,000 tonnes of old crop and an additional 422,000 tonnes of new crop.
The IGC forecast world corn production of 1.208 billion tonnes in 2023/24. That would be up by six million from the March estimate and by 58 million on the year.
The US Ag Attaché forecast European grain production in 2023/24 at 285 million tonnes – up from 267 million for the current marketing year.
WHEAT was lower across the board, as improving forecasts for the U.S. Southern Plains weighed on values.
Weekly U.S. wheat export sales of about 300,000 tonnes of old and new crop business combined were in line with estimates.
Rising wheat production estimates out of Russia were bearish, although much of the increase was thought to be due to the numbers including wheat grown in occupied Ukrainian territory.
The IGC pegged world wheat production in 2023/24 at 787 million tonnes, which was unchanged from the March estimate but below the 803 million tonnes grown in 2022/23.
