By Phil Franz-Warkentin, MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, Oct. 24 (MarketsFarm) – The ICE Futures canola market was weaker Tuesday morning, continuing its downward slide of the past week as bearish technical signals kept speculators adding to their large short positions.
Declines in Chicago soyoil contributed to the softer tone in canola, with European rapeseed and Malaysian palm oil futures also down on the day.
Solid end user demand underneath the market helped temper the declines, with a softer tone in the Canadian dollar also supportive.
Updated supply/demand estimates released by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada left the balance sheet relatively unchanged for canola, with exports in 2023/24 forecast at 7.7 million tonnes and domestic usage at 10.00 million tonnes. If realized, the exports would be down by three per cent on the year, while domestic usage would be up by 0.4 per cent. Canola ending stocks are forecast to tighten to 1.0 million tonnes, from 1.5 in 2022/23.
About 13,000 canola contracts had traded as of 8:45 CDT.
Prices in Canadian dollars per metric ton at 8:45 CDT:
Canola Nov 673.40 dn 6.40
Jan 684.20 dn 7.00
Mar 692.60 dn 7.10
May 698.30 dn 7.10