ICE Canola Maintains Upward Trend

Speculative buying was a factor contributing to canola’s advances, with values now above the C$600 per bushel level in the March contract, analysts said.

Large gains in soyoil on Wednesday made the crush margin more favorable for domestic crushers, which also was a bullish factor for canola, brokers said.

The Canadian dollar was about a tenth of a cent lower in early trade, which also aided values, market watchers said.

Traders have said the overall bias for canola is upward, and many expect values to be significantly higher come the spring.

Gains were limited as many traders were booking profits after the large advances made on Wednesday, analysts said.

Experts said a favorable weather outlook in Argentina – which includes precipitation and cooler temperatures – was also limiting the increase.

At 08:35 CST, there had been about 2,000 canola contracts traded.

Western barley futures were unchanged and untraded early Thursday.

Prices in Canadian dollars per metric ton at 08:35 CST: