North American Grain/Oilseed Review: Canola climbs higher Tuesday

The ICE Futures canola market was stronger on Tuesday, underpinned by solid end-user demand and ideas the oilseed remains cheap relative to alternatives.

News of a Russian missile strike on NATO-member Poland late in the day added to the gains, causing crude oil prices to rally and raising concerns over the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The Chicago soy complex was higher on the day, lending some spillover support for canola. However, European rapeseed and Malaysian palm oil futures were both weaker.

Canola remained stuck in a sideways trading range from a chart perspective, with the nearby January contract facing resistance at the psychological C$900 per tonne level.

About 23,895 canola contracts traded on Tuesday, which compares with Monday when 22,933 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 16,812 of the contracts traded.

WHEAT futures were lower across the board for most of the day, but turned higher in the last hour of trade on Tuesday as reports that one or more Russian missiles had strayed out of Ukraine and struck Poland – killing at least two people in the NATO-member-country – sparked a rally in crude oil and other markets.

The United States winter wheat crop was 96 per cent seeded in the latest weekly report, about three points ahead of average. Emergence was pegged at 81 per cent.

The crop was rated 32 per cent good to excellent, which was a slight improvement on the week.

SOYBEANS were underpinned by good export demand for most of the session, with the kneejerk response to the Russian missile news late in the day adding to the gains.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported flash export sales of 261,000 tonnes of soybeans to Mexico this morning.

The U.S. soybean harvest was nearing completion, causing seasonal harvest pressure to fade. Only four per cent of the crop was still in the field as of this past Sunday, which was ahead of average for this time of year.

Monthly U.S. crush data showed that 184.46 million bushels of soybeans were processed in the country in October, which was in line with expectations and well ahead of the 158.1 million bushels crushed the previous month. Soyoil stocks, at 1.528 billion pounds, were up on the month, but slightly behind average trade guesses.

CORN was also underpinned by solid exports and the waning harvest pressure.

The USDA reported flash sales of 230,000 tonnes of corn to Mexico this morning.

The U.S. corn harvest was 93 per cent complete, up six points on the week and well ahead of the 85 per cent average for this time of year.

Tags: Ukraine, Russia, corn, canola, Oilseed, soybeans, wheat, rapeseed, palm oil, futures, Market