By Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
Jan. 17, 2013
Winnipeg – Canola contracts on the ICE Futures Canada platform were mostly lower at 10:58 CST Thursday, retreating from earlier gains as the market ran into technical resistance.
Advances in CBOT soybeans initially helped pull the March canola contract over the psychological C$600 per tonne level, but soybeans turned lower and canola retreated below unchanged as well.
Speculators and commercial traders were on both sides of the market, according to participants. Tightening canola supplies and improving crush margins did provide underlying support. However, hedge selling on the other side weighed on prices.
Dryness concerns in parts of South America provided some support for the oilseeds, including canola. However, harvest operations will be starting up in the continent within the next month, which will weigh on prices regardless of total production, said a trader.
At 10:58 CST, about 11,000 canola contracts had changed hands. Spreading was a feature, accounting for the bulk of the volumes.
Milling wheat, durum, and barley futures were untraded and unchanged.
Prices in Canadian dollars per metric ton at 10:58 CST:
