ICE Canola Contracts Ease As Outside Oilseeds Decline

Losses were experienced overnight in Malaysian palm oil and European rapeseed futures, which helped to spark the initial wave of selling interest in canola, brokers said. Losses in CBOT soybean and soyoil futures with the start of the North American day session contributed to the downward price action seen in canola.

Weakness in canola was also tied to year-end profit-taking by a variety of market participants.

Firmness in the Canadian dollar, as it flirts with parity with the US currency, was also an undermining price influence on the commodity, brokers said.

Light hedging by elevator companies added to the bearish price sentiment in canola as did a drop off in new export business, traders said.

Good underlying support in canola, however, continued to come from steady domestic processor demand and from the pricing of old export business, brokers said.

The dryness concerns in Argentina’s soybean growing regions were also helping to keep a firm price floor under canola values, traders said.

Spreading was again the main feature of the activity seen so far in canola, traders said.

There were an estimated 5,258 canola contracts traded at 10:45 CST. Of the contracts traded, an estimated 3,720 were spread related.

There were no western barley futures traded as of 10:45 CST.