Winnipeg canola prices were supported by a weaker loonie Friday.
The pullback in the loonie improved domestic crushers’ margins and they bought. The traded volume was unusually high as traders rolled out of the May contract and into July.
Soybeans saw technical strength Thursday when the May contract broke through the 200-day moving average. Early Friday it crossed the 100-day moving average but closed below that level.
With the technical support, soybeans rose 33 cents per bushel or 3.46 percent on the week, but canola rose only 40 cents per tonne, or 0.1 percent.
Richardson International said its Yorkton canola crushing plant will start commercial crushing in late May or early June.
The May canola contract rose 30 cents to $381.50 per tonne on 14,884 trades.
The previous day’s best basis narrowed to -$1.95 per tonne off the May contract in the par region, according to the Winnipeg ICE Futures daily report.
The 14-day Relative Strength Index for May canola fell to 48, according to BarChart.com. The rule of thumb is that an RSI of 30 indicates an oversold market and 70 indicates overbought.
July canola rose 10 cents to $388.10 on 17,577 trades.
New crop November rose $1 to $393 per tonne.
The U.S. dollar rose against the loonie and other currencies after the American Securities and Exchange Commission charged Goldman Sachs, a leading U.S. investment bank, with fraud, prompting investors to seek refuge in the greenback.
The Canadian dollar at noon was 98.54 cents US, down from 99.86 cents at noon the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was 1.0148 cents Cdn.
The Winnipeg May barley contract fell $1.50 to $152 per tonne. July was steady at $145.50. December was steady at $150.
Chicago May soybeans rose 1.25 cents US to $9.8525 per bushel. November soybeans rose 4.5 cents to $9.655 per bu.
May oats fell 2.25 cents to $2.1525 per bu.
Light crude oil for May delivery fell $2.27 to $83.24 per barrel.
Statistics Canada releases its planting intentions survey April 26. Yesterday’s canola report had the wrong date.
The Canadian Oilseed Processors Association said members crushed 102,724 tonnes of canola in the week ending April 14, down 2.4 percent from the week before.
So far this year, COPA members have crushed 3.03 million tonnes.
