ICE Canada Review: Canola Lower on Chinese Interest Hike

Market watchers said the majority of the selling was being done by speculative accounts, while farmer hedging was also in play on Friday.

A decline in crush margins was weighing on the market, as demand from the crushing sector had declined, brokers said.

Losses by the US soy complex, along with overnight losses posted by Malaysian palmoil and European rapeseed further lowered the values of canola, experts said.

Limiting declines were worries that wet soil conditions and the threat of flooding in western Canada will lower canola acreage this spring, analysts said.

The Canadian dollar, which had traded near three-year highs earlier Friday, was trading at lower levels that at Thursday’s close. This helped restrict the losses of canola, market watchers said.

About 22,797 contracts were traded on Friday, which compares with Thursday, when an estimated 28,563 contracts changed hands. Spreading accounted for about 19,804 of the contracts traded.

Western barley futures were unchanged Friday, although there were two contracts traded in the nearby March future.

Settlement prices are in Canadian dollars per metric ton.