North American Grain/Oilseed Review: Canola higher, soybeans sink

Glacier FarmMedia MarketsFarm — The ICE Futures canola market added onto its recovery from Wednesday, but came off its highs late in trading.

European rapeseed and Malaysian palm oil showed strong gains while Chicago soyoil was slightly higher. Crude oil was also up amidst tensions in the Middle East.

Cooler temperatures continued in the Prairies with warmer weather returning in the weekend.

At mid-afternoon, the Canadian dollar was steady compared to Wednesday’s close.

There were 32,448 canola contracts traded on Thursday, which compares with Wednesday when 41,230 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 15,644 of the contracts traded.

SOYBEAN prices at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) fell for the third straight day on Thursday. The September contract dropped below US$10 per bushel for the first time.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported old crop soybean sales at 325,400 tonnes, slightly above trade estimates. For new crop, 985,200 tonnes were sold, also above trade expectations.

For U.S. soymeal, 102,300 tonnes of old crop were sold as well as 256,500 tonnes of new crop. For U.S. soyoil, 10,900 tonnes of old crop were sold, lower than trade guesses, while there were 8,200 tonnes of net sales reductions for new crop.

Chinese soybean imports for the month of July totaled 9.85 million tonnes, down three per cent from one year ago.

Workers at crush plants in Argentina remain on strike, with only two ports in the entire country not hosting soyoil facilities.

CORN prices also fell for the third straight session, trading near contract lows.

The USDA reported 485,400 tonnes of old crop corn were sold for export during the week ended Aug. 1, greater than trade expectations. In addition, 249,100 tonnes of new crop corn were also sold, well below trade estimates.

Strategie Grains cut its production estimate for old crop corn in the European Union at 60 million tonnes, down from 62 million in the July estimate and down 4.5 per cent from the previous year’s harvest.

WHEAT suffered small losses on Thursday, with all three major U.S. varieties lower for a second consecutive day.

In total, 274,000 tonnes of U.S. wheat were sold for export, at the lower end of trade expectations. There were also sales for 112,000 tonnes of 2025-26 U.S. wheat.

Egypt’s massive 3.8 million tonne tender issued earlier in the week is likely to be filled by Russian and Black Sea wheat.

Strategie Grains cut its forecast for EU wheat production by 5.8 million tonnes at 116.5 million. France’s crop is set to be 25.6 million tonnes, its smallest crop since 1986.

The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange warned Argentina’s wheat crop may be damaged by frost in the coming days.

Japan purchased 83,445 tonnes of wheat in its weekly tender from the U.S., Canada and Australia.