North American grain/oilseed review: Canola climbs higher

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

Glacier FarmMedia MarketsFarm — The ICE Futures canola market posted solid gains on Thursday, hitting its highest levels since November. Chart-based buying was a feature, with solid end user demand and tightening supply projections also underpinning the futures.

The temporary pause on tariff threats from the United States announced earlier in the week remained supportive, with canola gaining ground relative to the U.S. soy complex. Chicago soybeans and soyoil were higher by the close, although canola outpaced the U.S. market to the upside.

Gains in European rapeseed and Malaysian palm oil contributed to the firmer tone in canola.

Statistics Canada will release stocks data as of Dec. 31 on Friday, with the numbers helping confirm last year’s production and usage-to-date.

There were 66,363 contracts traded on Thursday, which compares with Wednesday when 38,629 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 44,480 of the contracts traded.

SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade held near unchanged for most of the session, settling with modest gains as the market consolidated just below nearby highs.

The United States Department of Agriculture reported weekly soybean export sales of 387,700 tonnes, which was at the low end of pre report trade guesses.

Improving weather forecasts out of Argentina and the advancing Brazilian harvest weighed somewhat on values.

CORN futures posted small gains with news Mexico would lift restrictions on imports of genetically modified corn behind some of the strength, as the country is a major importer of U.S. corn.

Weekly U.S. corn export sales came in at the high end of trade expectations at just under 1.5 million tonnes.

WHEAT was underpinned by weather worries in Europe and the Black Sea region, with forecasts calling for cold temperatures over the next week raising the likelihood of damage to the winter wheat crops.

Reduced competition from Russia, as the country is set to impose export quotas later this month, were also supportive.

Weekly U.S. wheat export sales of about 440,000 tonnes were in line with trade estimates.