North American grain/oilseed review: Canola settles with small gains

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

Glacier FarmMedia MarketsFarm — The ICE Futures canola market held onto small gains in the most active months on Friday, as speculative positioning and end-user bargain hunting provided support ahead of the weekend.

Gains in European rapeseed also underpinned canola, although losses in Chicago soybeans and soyoil tempered the upside for the Canadian oilseed.

The Canadian Grain Commission reported weekly canola exports of 384,800 tonnes during the week ended Oct. 13, which was more than double what moved the previous week. Year-to-date shipments at 2.34 million tonnes compare with only 872,900 tonnes at the same time in 2023/24.

Producer deliveries into the commercial pipeline were up by 5.6 per cent from the previous week, at 500,400 tonnes.

There were an estimated 51,172 contracts traded on Friday, which compares with Thursday when 58,244 contracts traded. Spreading accounted for 29,320 of the contracts traded.

SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were weaker on Friday, retreating from earlier gains to end the week.

The United States Department of Agriculture reported weekly soybean export sales of 1.7 million tonnes, which came in at the high end of trade expectations.

An additional 292,800 tonnes to unknown destinations and 21,000 tonnes of soyoil to Mexico were also reported this morning.

While the solid export demand was supportive, the advancing U.S. harvest and improving moisture prospects in Brazil were enough to drag values lower.

CORN was also pressured by the U.S. harvest and good South American weather.

Weekly U.S. corn export sales of 2.226 million tonnes topped trade guesses, with additional flash business of 125,000 tonnes to unknown destinations also reported.

WHEAT was weaker, as chart-based speculative selling ahead of the weekend and improving moisture conditions for winter wheat in the U.S. Plains weighed on values.

Weekly US wheat export sales came in at the high end of expectations at 504,100 tonnes.

In an effort to curb exports, Russia raised its wheat export duty by another 14 per cent after already increasing it 41 per cent last week.