ICE Canadian canola futures rose on Tuesday for a fourth straight session on fund-driven short-covering and a continued slow pace of farmer sales in the wake of contract lows set last month, traders said. Traders have begun rolling short positions forward from the May to the July contract, anticipating that large commodity funds will soon begin the same process.
Worries about a drop in canola shipments to China hung over the market. The head of Richardson International, Canada's largest exporter of canola seed to China, predicted Canadian farmers could cut the amount of canola they plant this year by 10 percent or more. Richardson International President and Chief Executive Curt Vossen said finding new markets for canola seed would be challenging if Beijing's ban on imports continued in the long term.
After the market closed, Canada's agriculture minister said Chinese authorities have filed a quality complaint against a third Canadian canola exporter. Benchmark May canola rose $2.10 to settle at $458.70 per tonne. July canola ended up $2.30 at $466.70 per tonne. The May-July canola spread traded 2,177 times between $7.60 and $8, premium July.
Chicago Board of Trade May soyabeans settled up 4-1/2 US cents at US$9.00 per bushel on optimism about a trade deal between the United States and China, traders said.
Paris Matif May rapeseed futures rose 0.6 percent and Malaysian June palm oil futures rose 1.9 percent. The Canadian dollar weakened against its US counterpart, pulling back from an 11-day high the previous day. The unit last traded at $1.3337 to the US dollar, or 74.98 US cents.