The slightly lower Canadian dollar Friday supported export and domestic buying of canola, lifting Winnipeg futures.
Canola rose despite a drop in U.S. soybean futures, which fell as traders took profits after a technical rally this week.
European rapeseed futures jumped higher on dryness in France, short covering as the May contract nears expiry and confusion over the state of Ukraine’s rapeseed crop. Some market watchers say the crop there was hit hard by a tough winter but others say the damage is slight.
The Winnipeg May canola contract rose $1.10 to $379.40 per tonne on 7,748 trades. Over the week, the May contract fell $2.10.
The previous day’s best basis was steady at -$2.25 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 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 $1.10 to $385.90 on 13,466 trades.
New crop November rose 80 cents to $389.50 per tonne on 4,106 trades.
The Canadian dollar at noon was 99.73 cents US, down from 99.87 cents at noon the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was $1.0027 Cdn.
The loonie weakened slightly on reports that showed lower than anticipated inflation and retail sales data for March, lessening the chances the Bank of Canada would hike interest rates aggressively.
Winnipeg barley contracts were untraded. May was steady at $151.10 per tonne. There is no open interest in the May contract. July was steady at $145.50. December was steady at $150.
Chicago May soybeans fell 4.25 cents US to $10 per bushel. November soybeans fell six cents to $9.79 per bu.
May oats fell 9.5 cents to $2.05 per bu. Oats were pressured by lower corn futures, which fell on rapid seeding progress and expectations of a record U.S. crop.
Light crude oil for June delivery rose $1.42 to $85.12 per barrel.
Statistics Canada releases its planting intentions survey April 26.
The Canadian Oilseed Processors Association said members crushed 104,686 tonnes of canola in the week ending April 21, up 1.9 percent from the week before.
So far this year, COPA members have crushed 3.12 million tonnes.
