By Dwayne Klassen, Commodity News Service Canada
February 7, 2013
WINNIPEG – Canola futures on the ICE Canada trading platform ended Thursday’s session on a mostly firmer footing with tight supply concerns and chart-based buying by speculative and commodity fund accounts behind the strength, market watchers said.
The advances in the nearby March future were amplified by the absence of technical resistance on the way up, brokers said. The triggering of buy- stops further exaggerated the price gains in the March canola future.
The need to ration the strong demand from domestic crushers and export outlets helped to push canola futures to higher ground, traders said. The downswing in the value of the Canadian dollar was also viewed as an underpinning price influence.
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The buying back of previously sold positions was also evident during the session, which further contributed to the upward price momentum.
The upside in canola was restricted by the taking of profits at the highs of the day and by the declines experienced in CBOT soybean and soyoil futures. Elevator company hedge selling, tied to steady farmer deliveries of canola into the cash pipeline in western Canada further capped the upside price potential. Traders said farmers were taking advantage of cash bids for canola that have moved into the C$14.75 to C$15.00 per bushel range in select areas of the Canadian prairies.
Spreading was again a key feature of the activity in canola and was a significant part of the volume total.
There were an estimated 30,903 canola contracts traded Thursday, down slightly from the 31,884 contracts that changed hands during the previous session. Of the contracts that changed hands, 24,340 were spread related.
No milling wheat, durum or barley contracts were traded.
Prices are in Canadian dollars per metric ton.
