By Phil Franz-Warkentin, Commodity News Service Canada
WINNIPEG, Jan. 12 (CNS Canada) – ICE Futures Canada canola contracts were lower Friday morning, although activity was choppy as participants await a number of key reports from the United States Department of Agriculture.
The USDA will release updated production, stocks, and winter wheat acreage numbers at 11:00 CST, with those numbers likely dictating the eventual direction in the futures. U.S. markets will be closed Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, while Canadian markets remain open, and positioning ahead of the U.S. long weekend should be another feature.
Ahead of the reports, early losses in CBOT soyoil and soybeans spilled over to put some pressure on canola.
Ample nearby supplies also weighed on values, although a return to cold temperatures across much of the Prairies should hinder farmer deliveries.
About 2,500 canola contracts had traded as of 8:54 CST.
