ICE Canola Strengthens Playing Catch-Up, Weather Supportive

"We’re playing catch-up from yesterday," said a canola trader who noted that while CBOT soybeans were down slightly on Thursday, they had climbed sharply higher on July 1.

Ongoing concerns about weather conditions in the dry areas of Alberta and Saskatchewan also helped underpin canola, according to the trader. "It looks like the Alberta crop will be going through flowering in very warm conditions," he said.

Farmers are generally on the sidelines, as the weather concerns have them holding out for higher prices, said the trader.

However, export interest was also thought to be quiet, leading to relatively thin trade volumes. "Exporters are well covered for the next thirty to fifty days, which has tempered us to the upside," said the trader.

At 10:56 CDT, about 3,300 canola contracts had changed hands. Inter-month spreading was a feature, as participants continued to clean up the remaining open interest in the July contract.

Western barley futures were steady to lower with 57 contracts traded by 10:56 CDT. Losses in CBOT corn accounted for some of the selling pressure in barley.

Prices in Canadian dollars per metric ton at 10:56 CDT: