By Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
WINNIPEG, April 15 (CNS Canada) – Canola contracts on the ICE Futures Canada platform were weaker at midday Friday, as losses in outside vegetable oil markets weighed on values.
Chicago Board of Trade soyoil and Malaysian palm oil futures were both down on Friday, which spilled over to the canola market.
Chart-based selling contributed to the softer tone in canola, as the market appears to have run into major resistance just above C$480 per tonne in the nearby May contract.
However, gains in CBOT soybeans and slight weakness in the Canadian dollar were supportive. Canola was also underpinned by steady exporter and domestic crusher demand, together with a lack of significant farmer selling.
The need to keep some weather premiums in the market through the spring seeding period was also supportive. Statistics Canada releases its first survey-based acreage estimates for the year on April 21.
About 16,000 canola contracts had traded as of 10:41 CDT, with intermonth spreading a feature.
Milling wheat, durum, and barley futures were all untraded.
