Winnipeg, MB, July 16, 2014

ICE Futures Canada canola contracts settled higher on Wednesday, as ongoing uncertainty over the size of this year's crop and spillover from the corrective bounce in CBOT soybeans provided support.

Excessive moisture in some parts of Western Canada and dryness in others has led to mounting concerns that the crop won't live up to earlier expectations, according to participants. That production uncertainty led to some end user buying interest, as they look to ensure some coverage going forward. Meanwhile, farmers remain reluctant to make sales right now, until they get a better picture on this year's yield prospects, said traders.

However, the general technical outlook has turned bearish, which made any gains a good selling opportunity from a chart standpoint, said traders.

Softness in CBOT soyoil and expectations for a large US soybean crop also put some pressure on values, limiting the advances.

About 10,206 canola contracts were traded on Wednesday, which compares with Tuesday when 17,906 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for 5,668 of the contracts traded.

Milling wheat, durum, and barley were all untraded.

Settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric ton.

                          Price      Change
Canola            Nov     450.30    up 4.80
                  Jan     453.30    up 4.60
                  Mar     454.00    up 4.80
Milling Wheat     Oct     188.00    unch
                  Dec     194.00    unch
Durum             Oct     250.00    unch
                  Dec     256.00    unch
Barley            Oct     137.50    unch
                  Dec     139.50    unch
     Spread trade prices are in Canadian dollars and the volume
represents the number of spreads:
Months        Prices                      Volume
Canola
Nov/Jan       3.40 under to 2.90 under       727
Nov/Mar       4.00 under to 3.50 under        86
Nov/May       0.40 under to 0.50 over        296
Jan/Mar       0.90 under to 0.30 under       529
Jan/May       2.60 over to 3.70 over         250
Mar/May       3.30 over to 4.60 over         868
Mar/Jul       7.50 over                        1
Jul/Nov       8.60 over to 14.90 over         77

Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service