By Phil Franz-Warkentin, MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, Dec. 14 (MarketsFarm) – The ICE Futures canola market was mixed at Wednesday’s close after trading to both sides of unchanged in choppy activity.
Losses in Chicago soyoil accounted for some spillover selling pressure in the market, with European rapeseed also down on the day. However, Malaysian palm oil was higher and the Canadian dollar slightly weaker – which both provided support.
Mixed forecasts out of South America kept a cautious tone in the world oilseed markets, with persistent drought cutting into soybean production prospects in Argentina.
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Canola remained stuck in a broad sideways trading range from a chart perspective, with the most-active March contract settling between its 50- and 100-day moving averages.
About 36,614 canola contracts traded on Wednesday, which compares with Tuesday when 35,613 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 22,194 of the contracts traded.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were narrowly mixed at Wednesday’s close, with support from gains in soymeal countered by pressure from a downturn in soyoil.
Forecasts for Argentina remain hot and dry, helping keep a weather premium in the soybean market as production prospects in the country continue to decline. Parts of Brazil are also on the dry side, although conditions are better there overall.
CORN was lower, with chart based selling a feature after Tuesday’s activity as deemed as bearish from a technical standpoint.
The United States Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS) lowered their estimate for Ukraine’s corn crop to 23.1 million tonnes, down by 2.7 million from an earlier forecast, with an estimated 40 per cent of the war-torn country’s corn crop still unharvested.
WHEAT was lower across the board, with the largest losses in Kansas City hard red winter wheat.
The Ukrainian Port of Odessa reportedly resumed operations after a Russian attack over the weekend briefly halted movement from the Black Sea facility. The resumption of grain exports from the region accounted for some of the selling pressure in the U.S. futures.
While Ukrainian wheat production remains in question, projected exports were being revised higher.
