ICE canola posting gains in quiet trade

Glacier FarmMedia | MarketsFarm — The ICE Futures canola market was posting small gains Monday morning, although activity was thin and choppy with markets in the United States closed for Memorial Day.

Chart-based positioning contributed to the gains, with speculators sitting on a large net long position in the oilseed. Tightening supplies and the need to ration demand also provided some support.

However, a softer tone in European rapeseed put some pressure on values, while Malaysian palm oil held near unchanged overnight.

The Canadian dollar was trading at its strongest level in seven months relative to its U.S. counterpart, which further tempered the upside in the canola market.

About 4,500 canola contracts had traded as of 8:54 CDT.

Prices in Canadian dollars per metric ton at 8:54 CDT:

Canola            Jul   722.70    up  1.90

Nov   690.80    up  2.50

Jan   696.90    up  2.70

Mar   700.70    up  1.20