North American grain/oilseed review: Canola continues higher to end week

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

Glacier FarmMedia | MarketsFarm — The ICE Futures canola market was stronger on Friday, as traders continued to try and make sense of shifting tariff news out of the United States.

The U.S. put a pause on some Canadian and Mexican import tariffs on Thursday, but President Donald Trump was back musing to reporters on Friday that Canadian tariffs on U.S. dairy and lumber were unfair and could be met with reciprocal tariffs.

Malaysian palm oil and Chicago soyoil futures were both higher on the day, providing spillover support for canola. Weakness in the Canadian dollar also underpinned the market.

The rally in canola brought values back above some key chart levels, which contributed to the firmer tone.

There were 35,818 contracts traded on Friday, which compares with Thursday when 43,363 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 16,946 of the contracts traded.

SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade traded to both sides of unchanged on Friday, lacking any clear direction as participants squared positions ahead of the weekend amid ongoing uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariff threats.

Brazil’s soybean harvest is nearing the halfway mark according to reports out of the country, with those recently harvested supplies making their way to export channels and cutting into demand for U.S. beans.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly supply demand report will be released March 11, with only minor adjustments to the soybean balance sheets expected.

CORN futures continued to correct off the two-and-a-half month lows hit earlier in the week, with supportive chart signals contributing to the gains. Solid export demand recently has been supportive, with crop year-to-date U.S. sales commitments up 26 per cent on the year and carryout projections expected to tighten in next week’s report.

However, expectations for increased U.S. corn acres this spring remained a bearish influence.

WHEAT was mostly lower, with relatively favourable conditions for the U.S. winter wheat crop behind some of the selling pressure.