By Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
May 15, 2014
Winnipeg – ICE Canada canola contracts were posting small losses Thursday morning in relatively subdued trade, after moving to both sides of unchanged in overnight activity.
The technical signals have turned lower, after canola retreated from nearby highs on Wednesday, according to analysts. The large old crop supplies still overhanging the market, losses in CBOT soyoil, a firmer tone in the Canadian dollar, and improving planting weather across Western Canada contributed to the early declines in canola, according to participants.
However, canola remains cheap compared to other oilseeds, keeping some end user demand in the market. The need to keep some weather premiums in the futures was also supportive.
Positioning ahead of the Victoria Day long weekend kept a cautious tone in the market. Canadian markets will be closed Monday, May 19, while US markets remain open.
About 2,600 canola contracts had traded as of 8:56 CDT.
Milling wheat, durum, and barley futures were all untraded after seeing some price revisions following Wednesday’s close.
Prices in Canadian dollars per metric ton at 8:56 CDT:
