ICE Canola Firmer, But Lagging Soybeans

CBOT soybeans, soymeal, and soyoil were all higher Wednesday, and that buying interest spilled into the canola market, said a trader. Exporter demand was also thought to be providing some support for canola, with talk that Japan and Mexico had both made some purchases recently.

A lack of farmer selling also helped underpin canola values, according to the trader. With the harvest now complete, he said farmers were generally of the opinion that canola prices were going higher and would keep to the sidelines for the time being.

However, canola was lagging soybeans to the upside. The trader noted that canola outperformed the US markets on Tuesday, and may be seeing a slight correction on Wednesday.

A firmer tone in the Canadian dollar also tempered the gains in canola, according to the trader.

At 10:53 CST, about 12,200 canola contracts had changed hands. The January/March spread was a major feature, accounting for about 9,000 of the contracts traded as participants start to roll their positions out of the nearby month.

Western barley futures were untraded and unchanged at midsession.

Prices in Canadian dollars per metric ton at 10:53 CST: