North American Grain/Oilseed Review: Canola up ahead of weekend

The ICE Futures canola market posted solid gains on Friday, taking back some of the losses posted earlier in the week as investors squared positions ahead of the long weekend.

Canadian markets will be closed Monday for Victoria Day while markets in the United States will trade their usual hours.

Gains in Chicago Board of Trade soyoil and other vegetable oil markets, including Malaysian palm oil, provided spillover support for canola.

Tight old crop supplies and the uncertainty over new crop production also underpinned the Canadian oilseed. Seeding remains delayed in the eastern Prairies due to excessive precipitation, while fields to the west could use more moisture.

About 17,888 canola contracts traded on Friday, which compares with Thursday when 15,902 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 11,042 of the contracts traded.

SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade continued to find support from solid export demand, with a rally in soyoil pulling beans up as well.

While there was no fresh business reported, United States soybeans are said to be attractively priced compared to other options.

Argentina’s soybean harvest was just over three quarters complete, according to a report from the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange.

Indonesia will reportedly begin allowing palm oil exports next week Wednesday.

CORN was lower, as losses in wheat spilled over to weigh on values.

Improving seeding conditions across the Midwest should allow farmers to make some good progress over the next week. With corn planting running behind normal, there had been ideas that some area would need to be switched to soybeans instead.

In a report out Thursday, the International Grain Council lowered their estimate for global corn production in 2022/23 to 1.184 billion tonnes, which would be down by 13 million from the previous month.

WHEAT posted large losses, continuing to back away from the highs hit earlier in the week as gaps were filled on the charts.

Efforts by the United Nations to help Ukrainian wheat leave the country put some pressure on values, but the tight world supply situation and North American production concerns were supportive.

The final tally of the Wheat Quality Council’s tour of U.S. winter wheat growing regions this past week pegged average yields at 39.7 bushels per acre – nearly 20 bu/ac below the year ago level.

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