ICE Canada Review: Export Talk Lifts Canola

The rolling of positions out of the nearby March contract and into the May future by commodity funds again provided much of the volume total.

Early support in canola came from the gains seen in Malaysian palm oil and e-CBOT soybean values, brokers said. Gains during the North American day session in CBOt soybean and soyoil values also contributed to the upward price charge seen by canola.

The slow pace of farmer deliveries into the cash pipeline in western Canada added to the strength seen by canola as did light exporter pricing of old export business. Talk of fresh Canadian canola sales to Pakistan further augmented the price advances, brokers said.

Steady domestic processor demand, amid a slight improvement in crush margins, further underpinned canola values.

The buying back of short positions by speculative accounts was also a supportive price influence.

The upside in canola, however, was limited by the large domestic supply of canola and the large global oilseed stock situation, traders said.

There were an estimated 16,344 canola contracts traded Monday, down from 17,928 during the previous session. Of the contracts traded, 13,624 contracts were spread related.

Western barley futures were steady to higher with much of the upward price action coming on the heels of a fractional jump in commercial demand. The lack of willing sellers, helped to augment the price advances seen in barley, traders said.

There were 34 barley contracts that changed hands during the session. On Friday, no barley contracts were traded.