ICE Canada Grain/Oilseed Review: Canola Falls on Strong C$

Some of the activity seen in canola throughout the session was said to be the evening up of positions ahead of the weekend and the US Memorial Day holiday on Monday that will result in the closure of the CBOT.

Most of the action in canola was confined to the nearby July and November contracts, although the January future did post some volume near the close.

Light commercial liquidation orders, some of which were tied to a pick up in producer deliveries into the cash pipeline, helped to take the nearby July contract down, traders said. A drop off in domestic processor demand weighed on canola as did the absence of fresh export business.

Some of the downward price action in canola also reflected sentiment that values were overbought and in need of a downward correction.

The late pull-back in the gains seen in CBOT soybeans was also viewed as an undermining price influence for canola. CBOT soyoil also erased some of its advances near the close which contributed some selling to the nearby July canola future, brokers said.

Some underlying support in canola came from the concerns regarding the slow pace of planting in western Canada, brokers said. The planting of canola in Alberta was said to be 70% complete, but in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, those operations were well behind normal.

There were an estimated 10,900 canola contracts traded during Friday’s session, down from 12,861 during the previous session. Of the contracts traded, 6,820 were spread related.

Western barley futures were unchanged to lower with only the nearby July future seeing any sort of trade action. Light commercial offerings in the absence of fresh demand, allowed the July future to be pushed down, traders said. The gains in CBOT corn futures helped to limit the price weakness.

An estimated 25 barley contracts changed hands during the session. On Thursday, 130 barley contracts were traded.