ICE Canola Slips On July Expiration, Losses In CBOT Soybeans

The nearby July contract was down moderately on the day, with losses mainly influenced by trade participants exiting the contract before it becomes deliverable next week.

New crop canola futures had initially been underpinned by concerns about poor weather and crop development in western Canada but the active November and January contracts were eventually pressured lower by the weakness seen in new crop CBOT soybean futures.

The moderate strength of the Canadian dollar Friday was also generating some selling, traders said.

A broker felt that weather scares across the prairies were still bullish for prices but that most of the resulting uncertainty had already been priced into the market.

Slow farmer selling, tied to a reluctance to commit new crop supplies until production levels become clearer, gave underlying support and was limiting canola’s declines.

Analysts said canola trade was mainly lackluster and given the soft tone in equities and crude oil as well as the lack of firm direction from Chicago, values were losing ground.

Many market participants have taken to the sidelines ahead of the June 30 USDA acreage report, which could show an increase in soybean acres due to an inability to sow corn, traders said.

At 11:02 CDT, 4,832 canola contracts had changed hands.

In the western barley market, revised contracts showed small gains although trade volumes were very light. Helping to underpin the market were ideas of lower western Canadian barley acreage, concerns about crop development and slow farmer selling.

Capping the market’s advances were declines in CBOT corn futures and pressure from the lower priced cash market in western Canada, a broker said.

As of 11:02 CDT, only 24 western barley contracts had been traded.

Prices in Canadian dollars per metric ton at 11:02 CDT: