Winnipeg, MB, Dec. 10, 2014

ICE Futures Canada canola contracts settled lower on Wednesday, as losses in the CBOT soy complex spilled over to weigh on values.

The monthly USDA supply/demand report was relatively neutral as far as soybeans were concerned, but confirmation of the large global supply situation was enough to trigger a sell-off in the US futures, according to traders who also pointed to the continued weakness in crude oil as a bearish influence overhanging the agricultural markets.

Ideas that canola was due for a correction of its own, following recent advances, also put some pressure on values.

However, the losses in canola were tempered by the weaker Canadian dollar, a continued lack of significant farmer selling, and steady end user buying interest. The fact that the nearby January contract remained at an inverse to the more deferred positions was seen as a sign of the solid nearby demand.

About 38,698 canola contracts were traded on Wednesday, which compares with Tuesday when 32,551 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 29,096 of the contracts traded.

Milling wheat, durum, and barley were all untraded.

Settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric ton.

                          Price      Change
Canola            Jan     431.90    dn 2.00
                  Mar     426.50    dn 2.80
                  May     427.80    dn 3.10
Milling Wheat     Mar     234.00    unch
                  May     237.00    unch
Durum             Mar     357.50    unch
                  May     357.50    unch
Barley            Mar     177.00    unch
                  May     179.00    unch
     Spread trade prices are in Canadian dollars and the volume
represents the number of spreads:
Months        Prices                      Volume
Canola
Jan/Mar       4.20 over to 6.00 over        9703
Jan/May       3.70 over to 4.00 over         465
Jan/Jul       0.90 over to 3.20 over        1616
Mar/May       2.10 under to 1.20 under      1709
Mar/Jul       2.60 under to 2.00 under       338
Mar/Nov       0.40 over to 1.10 over         168
May/Jul       1.50 under to 0.70 under       436
Jul/Nov       2.50 over to 2.60 over         113

Commodity News Service