Lumber Eases After Tariff Delay

The following is a range of analysts' estimates of export sales for the week ended Jan. 30. The estimates and prior week's actual figures encompass combined sales for all marketing years, unless indicated.

Units are in thousand metric tons. Parentheses indicate a negative number.

The export sales report is scheduled to be released at 8:30 a.m. EST Thursday in Washington. Actual figures are subject to revision by the USDA.

 
           Estimates         Actuals 
            Jan 30       Jan 23    Jan 16 
Wheat      200-550        480.3     215.6 
Corn       850-1500      1404.3    1670.2 
Soybeans   300-1100       442.5    1492.7 
Soymeal    200-450        410.3     210.2 
Soyoil    (15)-24          12.5       2.9 
 

Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com

Cocoa decreased to a 4-week low of 10435.00 USD/T. Over the past 4 weeks, Cocoa lost 6.55%, and in the last 12 months, it increased 100.26%.

Battery / EV Metals                                   Price 
BMI Lithium Carbonate, EXW China, >=99.2% Li2CO3     10,700 
BMI Lithium Hydroxide, EXW China, >=56.5% LiOH        9,625 
BMI Cobalt Sulphate, EXW China, >20.5% Co             3,554 
BMI Nickel Sulphate, EXW China, >22% Ni               3,583 
BMI Flake Graphite, FOB China, -100 Mesh, 94-95% C      435 
 

Source: Benchmark Mineral Intelligence

Note: Prices are mid-prices and quoted in dollars per metric ton. Lithium Carbonate, Lithium Hydroxide and Cobalt Sulphate prices are updated weekly; Nickel Sulphate prices are updated every other week; Flake Graphite prices are updated monthly.

Base metal prices are mixed, with LME three-month copper up 0.6% at $9,231.70 a metric ton and LME three-month aluminum down 0.2% at $2,623 a ton. Copper and aluminum both remain up 2.5% and 1.9% on-week, respectively. Prices fell sharply on Monday due to tariff risks, before recovering following a one-month delay to U.S. tariffs on Canada and Mexico. The metals market has generally performed well in the year-to-date, and overall the direction of travel remains to the upside, Saxo's Ole Hansen says in a note. Rising geopolitical tensions have prompted a surge in military expenditures, including stockpiling of critical raw materials like copper, aluminum and nickel, Hansen writes. Given the complex and often vulnerable supply chain, nations are securing increasingly long-term supply contracts and diversifying sources, reinforcing metal demand, he adds. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)

WINNIPEG, Manitoba--The ICE Futures canola market was weaker at midday Wednesday, taking back Tuesday's gains as losses in outside markets weighed on values.

Sharp declines in crude oil spilled into world vegetable oil markets on Wednesday, with Chicago soyoil, European rapeseed and Malaysian palm oil all lower.

The temporary pause on tariff threats from the United States remained somewhat supportive, although the likelihood of continued chaos from the Trump administration kept some caution in all markets.

Solid end user demand and tightening supply projections provided underlying support for canola, with values also holding above most major moving averages from a chart standpoint.

An estimated 19,500 canola contracts traded as of 11:53 ET.

Prices in Canadian dollars per metric tonne at 11:53 ET:

 
           Price      Change 
Mar       637.60     dn 9.60 
May       645.50     dn 9.00 
Jul       650.50     dn 8.60 
Nov       636.30     dn 6.70 
 

Source: Commodity News Service Canada, news@marketsfarm.com

Copper increased to a 13-week high of 4.41 USD/Lbs.

Over the past 4 weeks, Copper gained 6.86%, and in the last 12 months, it increased 16.64%.