By Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
WINNIPEG, Sep. 24 (CNS Canada) – ICE Futures canola contracts were posting small losses at midday Monday, although activity was thin and choppy as traders keep their eyes on harvest conditions across the Prairies.
Losses in Chicago Board of Trade soybeans accounted for some of the spillover selling pressure in canola, with the Canadian oilseed still looking expensive compared to its United States counterpart.
However, advances in soyoil provided some support.
Cool and wet conditions across Western Canada were also supportive, with the adverse weather causing harvest delays in many areas. A trader estimated that about half of the canola crop was still in the fields in Alberta and Saskatchewan, where “it will be an absolute ugly battle to get it off.”
With little relief in the forecasts, he expected the canola harvest would drag into November, with the uncertainty over yields and quality keeping prices underpinned.
About 3,300 canola contracts traded as of 10:31 CDT.
