Canola futures were higher today as the weaker Canadian dollar supported crush margins and made exports more attractive.
After dropping sharply on Wednesday, the Canadian dollar continued to weaken relative to its U.S. counterpart today.
Speculators adding to their large net long positions, estimated at over 35,000 contracts, accounted for much of the buying interest, according to traders. Nearby chart signals also remain pointed higher.
On the other side, losses in CBOT soyoil and soybeans weighed on values. Scale-up farmer selling also came forward to put some pressure on the market.
However, a broker cautioned that many line companies were switching to the lower-priced May futures, from the nearby March contract, in their basis contracts. May canola settled at a discount of $8.80/tonne compared to the front month.
March canola gained $3.40 to $462.20, May added $3.60 to $453.40 and July was up $4.30 at $447.30.
Milling wheat, durum, and barley were all untraded.
March and May wheat closed at $214 and $217, March and May durum at $361 and $351 and March and May barley at $195 and $197.
Source: Syngenta