| By Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada |
| Jan. 27, 2012 |
| Winnipeg – Canola contracts traded on the ICE Futures Canada platform were weaker at 10:50 CST Friday, as profit-taking on Thursday’s advances and an increase in farmer selling weighed on values.A softer tone in the CBOT soy complex contributed to the declines in canola, according to a broker. He said farmers were aggressive sellers recently, taking advantage of solid basis levels in western Canada. As a result, line companies were active sellers, hedging against those producer deliveries.
On the other side, routine Japanese export pricing provided underlying support for canola, according to the broker. Fund traders were also buying on a scale-down basis. Opinions on the South American weather situation, and its impact on the soybean crop, remain mixed and kept some caution in the oilseed markets, according to traders who expected the uncertainty would keep canola values within a narrow range. While recent rains have alleviated some of the dryness concerns, there are also still enough problem areas to keep traders from taking a risk premium out of the futures just yet. At 10:50 CST, about 10,500 canola contracts had changed hands, with the March/May spread a feature as the index funds start to roll out of the nearby contract. Both the old and the new barley contracts were steady to higher on Friday in light commercial trade. Milling wheat and durum futures were untraded at midsession. |
