MarketsFarm — ICE Futures canola contracts climbed sharply higher in the front months during the week ended Wednesday, hitting their highest levels since 2008. The March contract settled Wednesday at $717.80 per tonne, marking the first close above the $700 per tonne level since March 2008. “Everybody is long, and everybody won’t make a profit […] Read more

ICE weekly outlook: Canola entering uncharted waters

Feds predict three per cent increase in canola acres
Stocks nevertheless expected to tighten
MarketsFarm — Canadian farmers will seed more canola in the upcoming 2021-22 crop year, but solid demand will still cause ending stocks to tighten, according to the first new-crop supply/demand projections from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), released Monday. The department forecast seeded canola area in the spring of 2021 at 21.37 million acres, up […] Read more

Feed weekly outlook: Offshore demand still lifting Prairie barley
MarketsFarm — Solid offshore demand for Canadian barley remains the key driver in the domestic feed market, keeping prices high. “It’s certainly not driven by southern Alberta, it’s driven by Vancouver and the export business,” said Allen Pirness, of Market Place Commodities in Lethbridge, on the continued strength in barley bids. Typically, arbitrage opportunities would […] Read more

CBOT weekly outlook: Soy, corn turn bearish
Traders keep an eye on South America
MarketsFarm — Soybean and corn futures backed away from multi-year highs during the week ended Wednesday, as investors took profits and weather conditions showed some improvement in South America. “The technicals are a little bearish for both corn and beans,” said Terry Reilly of Futures International in Chicago. The managed money long position in soybeans, […] Read more

Funds’ net long position edges lower in canola
Net long increased in MGEX and K.C. wheats
MarketsFarm — Funds’ large net long position in canola narrowed slightly during the week ended Tuesday, according to the latest commitment of traders (CoT) report from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Managed-money fund traders as of Tuesday were holding a net long position in ICE Futures canola of 51,614 contracts, down by about […] Read more

Prairie cash wheat: Bids track rally in U.S. futures
Loonie up by a third of a cent on the week
MarketsFarm — Spring wheat bids in Western Canada climbed higher during the week ended Thursday, as a rally in U.S. futures more than countered any bearish influence from a rising Canadian dollar. Average Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS, 13.5 per cent protein) wheat prices were up by $11.50-$13 per tonne, according to price quotes from […] Read more

Feed weekly outlook: Barley market’s eye on exports, corn prices
MarketsFarm — Strong export demand for Canadian barley and rising corn prices in the U.S. are expected to continue to keep feed prices well supported in Western Canada. “Feed grains are being squeezed by lower imports of U.S. corn into Western Canada,” analyst Chuck Penner of Leftfield Commodity Research said in a presentation Tuesday for […] Read more

ICE weekly outlook: Rallying canola not at top yet
MarketsFarm — ICE Futures canola contracts continued to climb higher during the first few trading days of 2021 — and could still see more gains before the inevitable correction. “We’re not necessarily at the top,” said analyst Errol Anderson of Pro Market Communications in Calgary, adding “the market is going through intense demand rationing right […] Read more

2020 grain market review: The year that felt like a decade
MarketsFarm – The column in this space a year ago led with the line ‘the more things change, the more they stay the same.’ That line was a jumping off point for a decade-in-review piece pointing out some of the through lines of the grain markets during the previous ten years. Well, the pandemic hit […] Read more

Prairie cash wheat: CWRS bids rise with U.S. futures
MarketsFarm — Spring wheat bids in Western Canada were mostly higher during the week ended Thursday, with gains in U.S. futures countered somewhat by ongoing strength in the Canadian dollar. Average Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS, 13.5 per cent protein) wheat prices were down $2 to up $4 per tonne, according to price quotes from […] Read more