By Phil Franz-Warkentin, MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, April 18 (MarketsFarm) – ICE Futures canola contracts were holding onto small gains at midday Thursday, finding some support from advances in Chicago Board of Trade soyoil.
A lack of significant farmer selling and expectations for reduced Canadian canola acres this spring also underpinned the futures.
Statistics Canada releases its first acreage estimates of the year on Wednesday, April 24. Traders generally expect seeded canola area will be down from the 22.8 million acres seeded in 2018, but the extent of the revision remains to be seen.
Ongoing trade tensions with China also continued to weigh on values.
Markets will be closed for Good Friday on April 19, and positioning ahead of the long weekend was a feature.
About 14,000 canola contracts traded as of 10:40 CDT, with the May/July spread a feature as participants continued to roll their positions out of the front month.
Prices in Canadian dollars per metric tonne at 10:40 CDT:
Price Change
Canola May 452.00 up 0.80
Jul 459.80 up 1.10
Nov 471.20 up 0.80
Jan 477.80 up 0.70
