By Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
September 3, 2014
Winnipeg – Canola contracts on the ICE Futures Canada platform were weaker at midday Wednesday, as sharp declines in Chicago soybeans spilled into the Canadian market.
US soybean crop ratings improved to their best level ever for this time of year, with 72% rated good-to-excellent in the latest weekly USDA report. While weather concerns persist across parts of Western Canada, the mounting expectations for a record large soybean crop were more than enough to keep the bias lower in canola as well, said traders.
A firmer tone in the Canadian dollar contributed to the declines, said participants.
However, forecasts calling for wet weather across much of Western Canada over the next two weeks did limit the downside in canola, as the precipitation will delay harvest operations and could lead to some quality downgrades.
Technical support was also holding to the downside, tempering the declines, said traders.
About 14,000 canola contracts had traded as of 10:50 CDT.
Milling wheat, durum, and barley futures were untraded and unchanged.
Prices in Canadian dollars per metric ton at 10:50 CDT:
