ICE Canola Contracts Down As Demand Fizzles

Contributing to the downward price slide in canola were the losses experienced by CBOT soybean and soyoil futures, traders said. Losses in the North American equity sector and in global crude oil futures also weighed on prices.

The bearish price sentiment in canola was also tied to speculative liquidation, sparked by weak chart signals, brokers said.

The large world oilseed supply situation and the pending harvest of a record sized soybean crop in South America also continued to exert downward pressure on canola futures, traders said.

Some light elevator company hedge selling was also evident, which helped to depress canola futures early in the session.

Some underlying support in canola was coming from the pull-back in the value of the Canadian dollar, traders said. They noted that the weak currency has been supportive for domestic processors with crush margins improving amid the dollar’s easing.

Some scale-down pricing by commercials was evident in canola and helped to slow the price drop, brokers said.

There were an estimated 4,376 canola contracts traded at 10:41 CST. Of the contracts traded, 2,346 consisted of spreads.

There were 20 western barley futures traded as of 10:41 CST. Light commercial offerings in the absence of willing buyers allowed the May future to be pushed downwards, traders said. Weakness in CBOT corn futures was also an undermining price influence.