By Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
WINNIPEG, August 12 – Canola contracts on the ICE Futures Canada platform were lower at midday Wednesday, as strength in the Canadian dollar and losses in the CBOT soy complex both weighed on values.
The Canadian currency jumped by nearly a cent relative to its US counterpart on Wednesday, which should cut into crush margins and make canola less attractive to export customers.
Farmer selling as producers look to make some sales ahead of the harvest, also put some pressure on values, according to participants.
The USDA will release its much anticipated production estimates at 11:00 CDT, and positioning ahead of the report was keeping some caution in the market.
Depending on the reaction in soybeans, canola has the potential to move sharply one way or the other when the US data is released.
About 8,500 canola contracts had traded as of 10:30 CDT.
Milling wheat, durum, and barley were all untraded.
Prices in Canadian dollars per metric ton at 10:30 CDT:
