ICE Canola Strengthens On Lack Of Selling, Soybeans

The majority of the canola harvest is now complete across western Canada, with only a few fields left to go, said a canola trader. While hedge pressure had weighed on values recently, the trader thought the market was seeing a post-harvest lull as the farmer selling dries up.

Gains in CBOT soybeans, both today and on Wednesday when the canola market was closed for Remembrance Day, also provided some underlying support for canola, said the trader.

He said a weaker tone in the Canadian dollar was also accounting for some of the strength in canola.

However, the gains were limited in what was described as "quiet trade." The trader said market participants were still concerned about the looming Chinese restrictions on canola imports. The Canola Council of Canada has said that quarantine measures, implemented due to Chinese concerns about the blackleg fungus in canola, could cut Canada’s exports to the country by 70%. Blackleg is a common disease in canola and Canadian officials have said it would be impossible to certify any shipments as being free of the disease.

Losses in crude oil also put some spillover pressure on the oilseed markets, including canola, said the trader.

At 10:54 CST, about 6,800 canola contracts had changed hands.

Western barley futures were steady to higher, with 20 contracts traded by midsession.

Prices in Canadian dollars per metric ton at 10:54 CST: