By Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
WINNIPEG, Feb. 25 – ICE Canada canola contracts were weaker Thursday morning, as a firmer tone in the Canadian dollar and generally bearish technical signals weighed on values.
The Canadian dollar was up by roughly half a cent relative to its US counterpart in early activity, hitting its strongest levels in more than two months. The firmer currency cuts into crush margins and also makes exports less attractive to international buyers.
Canola was trading right above the nine-month-lows hit earlier in the week. The overall technical trend remains pointed down, after the market broke below major support earlier in the week, said traders.
A slightly softer tone in the CBOT soy complex was another bearish influence.
However, ideas that canola was looking oversold did provide some support. Overnight advances in Malaysian palm oil helped underpin the Canadian futures as well.
About 5,000 canola contracts had traded as of 8:49 CST.
Milling wheat, durum, and barley futures were all untraded.
