By Dwayne Klassen, Commodity News Service Canada
March 8, 2013
WINNIPEG – Canola futures on the ICE Canada trading platform ended Friday’s session on the defensive with some of the downward price push linked to the losses experienced in CBOT soybean and soyoil futures, market watchers said.
The liquidation of positions ahead of the weekend by speculative and commodity fund accounts helped to undermine canola futures, traders said.
Elevator company hedge selling, associated with steady farmer deliveries orf canola into the cash market contributed to the bearish sentiment in the commodity.
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The USDA supply/demand report released just before midday also was viewed as an undermining price influence on canola. The USDA estimate for Argentina’s soybean crop was reduced, but not by as much as what market participants had anticipated. Brazil’s soybean crop was still expected to be extremely large.
Sentiment that canola continues to be overpriced in comparison to other oilseeds, also sparked some downward price action. The small upswing in the value of the Canadian dollar further undermined canola futures.
The losses in canola were restricted by scale down pricing of old export business by commercials. Some light domestic processor demand was also evident, and helped to slow the price drop.
There were an estimated 10,984 canola contracts traded Friday, down from the 13,779 contracts that changed hands during the previous session. Of the contracts that were traded, 5,716 consisted of spreads.
No milling wheat, durum or barley contracts were traded during the sessio.
Prices are in Canadian dollars per metric ton.
