Nearby futures for ICE canola defied the lower close in Chicago soybeans and put on another C$15.30 per tonne for the May slot, I’d hate to be caught short on that contract, it’d be starting to get a little hard to sleep at night.
New crop ICE canola was also firmer with the Jan 22 slot gaining C$1.20. Across the Atlantic the Paris rapeseed contract for the Feb 22 slot was also firmer, up E0.75/t, to close at E440.50 per tonne. So there is roughly a AUD$95 spread between old and new crop rapeseed now. Locally we haven’t seen this as local old crop values failed to track international futures higher. We are still being offered a negative basis for new crop canola too, around AUD$30 under. Traditionally we might expect to see basis closer AUD$40 over for a forward contract.

Wheat futures in the US bounced back from the previous session. The lower AUD will also help with conversions here today. The key seemed to be the dry conditions in the US spring wheat belt. The high value of corn and soybeans would also be shifting acres away from wheat where possible.
Wheat conditions in Russia are mixed. Central Russia which started the program in good shape has gotten a little dry and suffered a lot with ice crusting, while southern Russia which started out a little dry has seen beneficial rains. We may see adjustments to the Russian wheat crop as we move through April but generally estimates are not expected to change a lot until we see some more spring growth.
Frost continues to be a concern across France and Ukraine.