By Dwayne Klassen, Commodity News Service Canada
April 23, 2013
Winnipeg – Canola futures on the ICE Canada trading platform ended Tuesday’s session mainly lower with only the two nearby contracts managing to post an advance. Support in those futures came from the tight old crop canola supply situation and the steady usage of those stocks by domestic crushers and export outlets, market watchers said.
Some of the upward momentum in those two futures was also linked to the gains seen in the two nearby CBOT soybean contracts, brokers said. The absence of any significant farmer deliveries of canola into the cash pipeline in western Canada also contributed to the price strength.
Read Also
Canadian Financial Close: Loonie rises, crude oil slips
Glacier FarmMedia | MarketsFarm – The Canadian dollar gained strength on Tuesday, closing at its highest level in 18 days. The loonie…
Much of the selling seen in the remainder of the canola contracts was associated with the declines posted in the outside oilseed markets, brokers said. Some light chart-based speculative liquidation added to the bearish sentiment seen in canola.
Somne of the downward price action seen in canola was also tied to the unloading of positions ahead of Wednesday’s first seeding intentions report scheduled to be released by Statistics Canada.
The potential for canola acres to climb above the government agency’s estimates amid delays in seeding across the Canadian prairies helped to fuel some of the selling. Traders noted that farmers will shift to canola if there were any significant delays in planting alternative crops.
The increased chances of extra area being planted to soybeans in the US this spring also contributed to the price weakness seen in canola, brokers said.
There were an estimated 22,802 canola contracts traded Tuesday, up from the 20,792 contracts that changed hands during the previous session. Of the contracts traded, 16,596 were spread related.
No milling wheat, durum or barley contracts were traded during the session. However, ICE Canada raised the May durum value at the close.
Prices are in Canadian dollars per metric ton.
