WINNIPEG, Manitoba--The ICE Futures canola market was weaker on Wednesday, retreating from earlier gains in the final hour of trade.
Canola had been trading within a few dollars of unchanged for most of the session before turning sharply lower in sympathy with Chicago soyoil. Traders were unsure what may have sparked the selloff.
The United States Department of Agriculture released interim guidelines on climate smart agricultural practices for growing crops for biofuel production, while monthly U.S. crush data was also released around the same time. However, neither report was bearish for oilseeds.
Uncertainty over possible U.S. tariffs did remain a bearish influence. The U.S. is the primary destination for Canadian canola oil exports, and the 25 percent tariffs threatened by incoming U.S. President Donald Trump would seriously cut into that movement.
The March contract dropped below its 200-day moving average, likely encouraging additional speculative selling pressure. However, support held at the 50- and 100-day averages with canola settling well off its session lows.
A merger between Bunge Ltd. and Glencore-backed Viterra was cleared by the Canadian government on Tuesday. The Grain Growers of Canada released a statement saying it was "extremely disappointed" by the takeover, claiming it will cost farmers about C$770 million in annual sales.
There were an estimated 75,170 contracts traded on Wednesday, which compares with Tuesday when 60,889 contracts traded. Spreading accounted for 46,828 of the contracts traded.
Settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric tonne.
Price Change Mar 641.60 dn 6.10 May 650.80 dn 4.80 Jul 656.80 dn 3.90 Nov 637.10 dn 2.70
Spread trade prices are in Canadian dollars and the volume represents the number of spreads:
Months Prices Volume Mar/May 8.50 under to 10.70 under 13,656 Mar/Jul 13.30 under to 18.50 under 200 Mar/Nov 4.40 over to 0.50 under 45 May/Jul 4.80 under to 7.90 under 5,340 May/Nov 14.20 over to 9.30 over 48 Jul/Nov 20.20 over to 16.40 over 4,091 Nov/Jan 5.00 under to 5.70 under 28 Jan/Mar 0.60 under 5 May/Jul 3.00 over 1
Source: Commodity News Service Canada, news@marketsfarm.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-15-25 1558ET