North American Grain/Oilseed Review: Canola down, grains mostly higher

Glacier FarmMedia MarketsFarm – The ICE Futures canola market drifted lower on Friday due to negative sentiment in vegetable oils, ending its five-day rally.

Chicago soyoil, European rapeseed and Malaysian palm oil were all in the red. However, crude oil was up ahead of an OPEC= meeting on June 2 to discuss supply cuts.

The Canadian Grain Commission reported 105,800 tonnes of canola exports during the week ended May 19, raising the marketing year’s total to 5.241 million tonnes, down 25 per cent from one year ago.

At mid-afternoon, the Canadian dollar was up one-quarter of a U.S. cent compared to Thursday’s close.

Southern Manitoba will see up to 70 millimetres of rain in some areas, mostly on Friday and tapering off on Saturday.

There were 30,226 canola contracts traded on Friday, which compares with Thursday when 34,351 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 13,872 of the contracts traded.

The July Chicago WHEAT contract at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) on Friday surpassed the US$7 per bushel mark for the fourth straight session, but still could not settle above it. Meanwhile, the July Kansas City hard red and Minneapolis spring wheat contract reached new calendar-year highs.

The Canadian Grain Commission reported Canadian wheat exports at 472,200 tonnes for the week ended May 19, bringing the marketing year total to 17.62 million, up 9.3 per cent from last year.

Ukraine has exported 16.9 million tonnes of wheat so far this marketing year, according to the country’s agricultural ministry.

French soft wheat was rated 63 per cent good to excellent, down one point from last week and durum was rated at 64 per cent, down two points, according to FranceAgriMer.

Taiwan is tendering for 96,850 tonnes of United States wheat.

The July CORN contract saw its third consecutive positive session, but the price has remained between US$4.50 to US$4.70/bu. since May 16.

The southern U.S. Midwest will be drier over the next six days, while the central Midwest will be wetter. There will be rains across most of the region for the next few days after that.

Ukraine has exported nearly 25.6 million tonnes of corn so far in the 2023-24 marketing year.

The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange reported the Argentine corn harvest at 28 per cent complete and left its production estimate unchanged at 46.5 million tonnes.

The corn harvest in Brazil’s southernmost state Rio Grande do Sul advanced four points at 92 per cent despite severe damage from heavy rains and flooding, according to crop agency Emater.

South Korea purchased 137,000 tonnes of corn to be sourced from the U.S., South America or South Africa.

The July SOYBEAN contract pushed above US$12.50/bu. for the third time in five days, but could not remain above that level.

The soybean harvest in Rio Grande do Sul hit 91 per cent completion, six points more than last week but below the 97 per cent historical average. Some beans arrived with 30 per cent humidity at storage units, which needed to be reduced to 14 per cent.

The International Grains Council estimated global soybean production for 2024-25 at 414 million tonnes, up one million from the previous month and up 23 million from last year. Ending stocks were raised three million tonnes at 78 million.