ICE Canola Mixed, Spreading The Feature

While the futures were mixed, a broker said the bias was pointing to the upside in canola. He said a slightly weaker tone in the Canadian dollar, together with expected firmness in the CBOT soy complex should provide some incentive to take canola prices higher. Malaysian palm oil futures posted small gains in overnight trade.

A lack of farmer selling, as producers turn their attention to spring field work, was also providing some support for canola, according to the broker.

However, he said prices would likely remain narrowly range- bound heading into the weekend, with uncertain new crop prospects keeping a cautious tone in the commodity markets.

About 9,500 canola contracts had traded as of 8:50 CDT. The bulk of the trade was confined to the May/July spread, as participants look to exit the nearby contract before the end of the month.

Western barley futures were untraded and unchanged in overnight activity.

Prices in Canadian dollars per metric ton at 8:50 CDT: