ICE Canada Review: Canola Tracks Outside Markets Higher

Speculative short-covering was a feature, as the bounce in the outside markets had canola traders booking profits on some of their recently sold positions as well, said traders.

Exporters and domestic crushers were also showing good demand, pricing old business as the domestic crush remains on pace for a new record and exports are also strong, said a broker.

However, an increase in farmer selling did temper the upside in canola, as some producers were said to be rattled by the recent weakness in the market and were now pricing some sales on any moves higher.

The technical situation does remain relatively bearish for canola, which limited the upside, according to traders. The Canadian dollar was stronger on Tuesday relative to its US counterpart, which also slowed the gains in canola.

About 19,454 contracts were traded on Tuesday, which compares with Monday when an estimated 14,512 contracts changed hands. Spreading was a feature, accounting for 15,730 of the contracts traded as participants were busy rolling out of the nearby January contract.

 Western barley futures were untraded and unchanged.

Settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric ton.