ICE canola futures jump to record on export sales, planting concerns

WINNIPEG, (Manitoba): ICE canola futures jumped to a record high on Tuesday as exporters priced sales and the market worried that Canada would not plant a large enough canola crop to match demand.

Tight Canadian canola supplies and strong demand from crushers and exporters have underpinned prices. Buyers have chosen to price some of their sales before prices climb even higher, a broker said. Trade expects, on average, Canadian canola plantings of 22.6 million acres, up from 20.8 million a year ago, according to a Reuters survey. Statistics Canada will issue its planting intentions report on April 27.

That canola planting estimate was lower than some market participants expected, the broker said, helping fuel the rally. Most-active July canola settled up $29.60 or 3.8% to $807.40 per tonne, after earlier climbing the daily $30 limit.

The May contract climbed as high as $862.30, a record high, surpassing the previous peak reached in February.

Traders have sold two shipments of Ukrainian rapeseed this month to Canadian buyers, a highly unusual trade that indicates the impact of spiking global oilseed demand.

May-July canola spread traded 2,537 times.

US corn futures climbed to their highest in nearly eight years and soybean futures neared a seven-year high as tightening supplies supported cash markets and attracted speculative buying.

Euronext August rapeseed futures rose and Malaysian July palm oil futures climbed 2.5%.