North American grain/oilseed review: Canola continues higher

Glacier FarmMedia | MarketsFarm — The ICE Futures canola market was stronger on Tuesday, with the largest gains in the nearby contracts as the market worked to ration demand. Weakness in the Canadian dollar was also supportive.

Canola was trading at the upper end of its year-long range on a weekly chart, with major resistance seen at C$680 per tonne in the most-active July contract.

Strength in Chicago soyoil provided spillover support, with European rapeseed also higher on the day. However, losses in soybeans and a mixed tone in Malaysian palm oil pressured values.

There were 55,786 contracts traded on Tuesday, which compares with Monday when 59,940 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 29,982 of the contracts traded.

SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were weaker on Tuesday, despite a rally in soyoil, as the market corrected after hitting its highest levels in seven weeks on Monday.

China is reportedly directing airlines in the country to stop placing new orders for Boeing jets, which was seen as an escalation of the trade war with the United States and weighed on soybean futures.

Brazil’s large crop was also overhanging the soy market.

The U.S. 2025 soybean crop was two per cent seeded in the latest weekly report, which was in line with the five-year average.

Monthly crush data showed 194.5 million bushels of soybeans crushed in the U.S. in March. That was up nine per cent from February, but short of what was processed the same month a year ago. Soyoil supplies at about 1.5 billion pounds were down 19 per cent from a year ago, accounting for some of the strength in soyoil.

CORN futures were mixed Tuesday, with losses in the front months and gains in the more deferred positions.

U.S. corn planting is in its early stages, with four per cent of intended acres in the ground as of this past Sunday. That’s only slightly behind the average pace for this time of year of five per cent done.

The USDA reported flash sales of 110,000 tonnes of corn to Portugal Tuesday morning, providing some support.

WHEAT was lower across the board, extending Monday’s losses.

Condition ratings for the U.S. winter wheat dipped one point in the good-to-excellent category — now at 47 per cent. Spring wheat planting at seven per cent done was in line with average.