Winnipeg canola futures closed slightly higher Monday but had risen much more earlier on hopes of a resolution of China’s concerns about Canadian canola.
After the market closed, the Canola Council of Canada said it was proving difficult to get the Chinese to budge. Council president Anne Buth said the Chinese were sticking to their demand for zero tolerance on blackleg in canola seed and were unwilling to push back the Nov. 15 requirement for blackleg-free certification.
The report was likely to weigh on the market when North American trading resumed Tuesday.
January canola rose as high as $410.90 per tonne in the morning Monday but closed at $402.60, up 50 cents from the close Friday on a volume of 8,514 contracts.
Federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz said earlier Monday he was optimistic about a resolution this week of the dispute with China over blackleg. Canadian and Chinese officials have had two days of talks about the issue and more are set.
Ritz’s statements fuelled the market early, but it ran out of steam by the close.
November canola, in delivery mode, gained $7.20 to close at $402.80 per tonne with only 69 contracts trading.
March climbed 20 cents higher to settle at $408.20 on a volume of 1,152 contracts.
The forecast for dry weather in Saskatchewan this week that would allow harvest to resume weighed on the market. About a fifth of the crop is still in the field after several weeks of cold wet weather.
Also negative to the price was the slight rise in the Canadian dollar.
At noon, the Bank of Canada said the Canadian dollar was worth 93.08 cents US, up from 92.82 on Friday. The U.S. dollar was worth $1.0743 Cdn.
