WINNIPEG (Dow Jones)--Canola contracts on the ICE Futures Canada platform finished Wednesday's session on the defensive with a pickup in farmer deliveries into the cash pipeline and profit-taking associated with the price slide, market watchers said.
The declines seen in canola over the past couple of session were said to have caused producers to move canola to the local country elevator before cash bids also experience a significant decline, traders said.
Profit-taking was an undermining price influence in canola, as was sentiment that canola futures were overbought and in need of a downward correction.
The upswing in the value of the Canadian dollar and a drop in fresh export business contributed to the bearish price atmosphere, brokers said.
Significant losses in Chicago Board of Trade soyoil futures also stimulated selling of canola.
Early weakness in canola had also been initiated by the declines exhibited overnight by Malaysian palm oil and European rapeseed futures, traders said.
The rolling of positions out of the January futures and into the March
contract again accounted for a big portion of the volume in canola.
Some underlying support in canola was tied to scale-down domestic crusher demand and the pricing of old export business, traders said.
An estimated 26,124 canola contracts traded Wednesday, down from the 28,578 contracts that changed hands the previous session. Of the contracts traded Wednesday, 18,742 were spread-related.
Western barley futures were unchanged and untraded Wednesday. On Tuesday, no western barley contracts changed hands.
