ICE Canola Weakens, Spreading The Feature

Weakness in CBOT soyoil, along with a relatively firmer tone in the Canadian dollar, weighed on canola, according to a Winnipeg broker. He added that canola had held up better compared to soybeans on Monday and was now seeing some catch-up selling.

Farmer hedges were also accounting for some of the weakness in canola. The broker said the harvest was slowing down in western Canada, which was giving producers more time to make deliveries.

Overnight frost in Manitoba, and forecasts calling for cold temperatures across other areas of the Prairies later this week, did little to move the canola market. The broker noted that most of the canola still left to harvest is past the point where a frost would create a concern.

Routine exporter pricing provided some underlying support for canola, although there was no fresh business reported and any demand was thought to be only on a scale-down basis.

Statistics Canada releases its latest production estimates on Friday, October 2. Traders are expecting upward revisions of a million tons or more to StatsCan’s last canola estimate of 9.5 million tons, and positioning ahead of the report should be a feature in the market during the week.

At 11:05 CDT, about 14,000 canola contracts had changed hands. The Nov/Jan spread accounted for most of the trade volumes, as the large index funds were rolling out of the November contract.

Western barley futures were steady to slightly weaker in quiet trade. Only 21 barley contracts had traded by midsession.

Prices in Canadian dollars per metric ton at 11:05 CDT: