ICE Canola Moves Higher, C$ Supportive

The Canadian dollar was down by nearly a cent Monday morning, trading below 98 US cents early in the day. While market analysts still expect the currency to reach parity with its US counterpart in the near future, the fact that the rally was stalling encouraged some exporter and domestic crusher pricing of canola, said traders.

Spring road bans across western Canada were also slowing farmer deliveries, providing some further support for canola prices, according to traders.

However, activity in canola was thin and range-bound. Traders said the upside was being tempered by calls for a slightly weaker start in the CBOT soy complex.

Large South American soybean supplies and expectations for increased Canadian canola acres this spring also kept the market under pressure.

About 220 canola contracts had traded as of 8:42 CDT.

Western barley futures were untraded and unchanged in overnight activity.

Prices in Canadian dollars per metric ton at 8:42 CDT: