The Canadian dollar jumped back to parity Tuesday, offsetting most of the support canola should have received from stronger soybean prices.
Only the nearby canola contract edged higher. Deferred contract months were lower.
The loonie rose when the Bank of Canada kept interest rates steady but said it was ending its commitment to keep rates unchanged until the end of June. Better than expected economic recovery means the bank might need to take action to limit inflation by raising interest rates. Higher interest rates would attract more investors to the loonie.
The next scheduled meeting of the bank is June 1.
Solid demand from domestic and foreign buyers supported soybeans, as did limited farmer selling.
Excellent spring planting weather in the U.S. Midwest limited gains.
The May canola contract rose 30 cents to $379.50 per tonne on 6,361 trades.
The previous day’s best basis narrowed to -$2.05 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 rose to 40, according to BarChart.com. The rule of thumb is an RSI of 30 indicates an oversold market and 70 indicates overbought.
July canola fell 20 cents to $385.70 on 9,695 trades.
New crop November fell $1.30 to $389.90 per tonne on 3,423 trades.
The Canadian dollar at noon was 1.0014 cents US, up from 98.03 cents at noon the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was 99.86 cents Cdn.
The Winnipeg May barley contract was steady at $151.10 per tonne. There is now no open interest in the May contract. July was steady at $145.50. December was steady at $150.
Chicago May soybeans rose 7.25 cents US to $9.84 per bushel. November soybeans rose 7.25 cents to $9.6325 per bu.
May oats rose 1.75 cents to $2.09 per bu.
Light crude oil for May delivery rose $2 to $83.45 per barrel.
