By Dwayne Klassen, Commodity News Service Canada Inc.
Winnipeg – Feb 2/12 – Canola contracts on the ICE Futures Canada trading platform settled Thursday’s session mixed with the nearby contracts lower and the deferred values higher. Profit-taking after the gains seen on Wednesday helped to influence some of the weakness in the nearby months as did steady farmer deliveries of canola into the cash pipeline, market watchers said.
Some of the early weakness in canola was spurred on by the declines experienced overnight in Malaysian palm oil and European rapeseed futures. The losses seen in CBOT soyoil futures Thursday also helped to weigh on prices.
The strong Canadian dollar, which traded at par or above parity with the US currency throughout much of the day, also was an undermining price influence on canola.
The beneficial rains in the soybean growing areas of South America and reports of harvest operations getting underway in some southern Brazil regions, helped to contribute to the bearish price sentiment in canola.
Support in canola was derived from fresh speculative fund buying interest that surfaced when vales hit their lows of the day, brokers said. A pick up in domestic crusher demand and the pricing of routine export business to Japan by commercial accounts also provided some good support for canola futures.
Some of the buying in the deferred contracts was associated with the concerns of a drought occurring on the Canadian prairies, given the absence of significant snow cover for a spring run-off and outlooks calling for above normal temperatures, traders said.
Spreading was again a big part of the volume total seen in canola. Some evening up of positions ahead of a stocks in all positions report from Statistics Canada Friday morning was evident.
There were an estimated 18,621 canola contracts traded Thursday, down from the 21,862 contracts that changed hands during the previous session. Of the contracts that traded, 15,799 were spread related.
There were no western barley, durum or new barley contracts traded during the session.
Milling wheat saw 25 contracts change hands during the day. Commercials were seen adjusting positions, brokers said.
Prices are in Canadian dollars per metric ton.
