ICE Canola Strengthens On Export Demand

Commercials were the noted buyers, according to a canola broker who said fresh export business to China was being priced in the market. He added that a lack of farmer selling, given the ongoing production uncertainty in western Canada, was also supporting canola values.

Concerns about the rapeseed crops in Europe due to drought conditions were also lending some support to the Canadian canola market, according to the broker. Gains in CBOT soybeans were another underpinning factor, although the narrowly mixed tone in soyoil tempered the spill-over buying.

A move above chart support at C$460 per metric ton in the November canola contract encouraged some speculative buying, according to traders. However, a broker said canola futures were now looking overbought from a technical standpoint, limiting the upside.

A firmer tone in the Canadian dollar also put some pressure on values, according to traders.

At 10:40 CDT, about 5,600 canola contracts had changed hands. The November/January spread was a small feature, accounting for about 1,500 of the contracts traded.

Western barley futures were untraded and unchanged.

Prices in Canadian dollars per metric ton at 10:40 CDT: