By Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
WINNIPEG, April 8 (CNS Canada) – Canola contracts on the ICE Futures Canada platform were down at midday Friday, as the Canadian dollar climbed sharply higher.
The currency was up by more than one cent relative to its US counterpart, trading back above 77 US cents. The firmer currency cuts into crush margins and makes exports less attractive to international buyers.
Routine farmer selling contributed to the softer tone in canola, while technical signals were another factor as values appear to have run into resistance from a chart standpoint, according to participants.
CBOT soyoil was also down at midday, but soybeans were up in the US.
The need to keep some weather premiums in the futures heading into the growing season helped limit the declines, with dryness in parts of Western Canada raising concerns.
About 9,000 canola contracts had traded as of 10:32 CDT.
Milling wheat, durum, and barley futures were all untraded.
