North American grain/oilseed review: Canola drops Tuesday

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

Glacier FarmMedia | MarketsFarm — The ICE Futures canola market was weaker Tuesday, seeing a profit-taking correction after climbing higher for the past few weeks.

The November contract retested its 200-day moving average for the third session in a row overnight but was unable to hold at that level. Losses in crude oil spilled into the vegetable oil markets, contributing to the weakness in canola.

Generally warm and dry weather conditions across Western Canada also weighed on prices, as the canola harvest is in its final stages.

Export data for August showed Canada shipped 718,000 tonnes of canola to China during the month, about three times what moved to the country during the first month of the 2023/24 marketing year.

There were an estimated 77,918 contracts traded on Tuesday, which compares with Monday when 46,462 contracts traded. Spreading accounted for 48,982 of the contracts traded.

SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were weaker on Tuesday, as the advancing harvest and losses in outside markets weighed on values.

The United States soybean harvest was nearing the halfway mark, at 47 per cent complete as of this past Sunday, according to the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture report. That was well ahead of the 34 per cent average for this time of year. The crop remained at 63 per cent good to excellent.

Flash sales of 166,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans to China were reported by the USDA, providing some support.

The USDA releases its monthly supply/demand estimates on Friday, with positioning ahead of the data a feature of the activity.

CORN was weaker Tuesday, with sharp losses in crude oil contributing to the selling pressure.

The U.S. corn harvest was 30 per cent complete in the latest weekly report — running about three points ahead of the average. Condition ratings were left unchanged at 64 per cent good to excellent, marking the highest for this time of year since 2018.

Forecasts call for warm and dry conditions across most of the Midwest over the next week, which should allow farmers to continue making good progress bringing in their crops.

WHEAT was underpinned by concerns over grain shipments through the Black Sea. Russian attacks on Ukrainian grain handling infrastructure have intensified, with several vessels also targeted recently.

Poor weather cutting into Russia’s crop prospects was another supportive price influence for wheat, with dryness in U.S. winter wheat growing regions being followed as well.

The U.S. winter wheat crop was 51 per cent seeded as of this past Sunday, running only one point off the average for this time of year.