ICE Canola Sharply Lower

Much of the selling interest in global commodities was sparked by rumours that a Chinese interest rate hike was being considered in an effort to limit rising inflation in the country. Renewed European debt fears also have re-ignited investor concerns, and helped to fuel the selling that surfaced in canola, experts said.

Elevator hedge selling was a popular theme Friday, contributing to the bearishness of canola, brokers said.

Market watchers said the an overbought market was undermining prices, while profit taking was also going on ahead of the weekend.

Losses were somewhat tempered by a weaker Canadian dollar, while gains in the US markets when the ICE Canada trading platform was closed in observance of Remembrance Day Thursday also helped to restrict the price drop.

There were an estimated 17,933 canola contracts traded Friday, up from the 10,761 contracts that changed hands during the previous session on Wednesday.

Western barley futures were unchanged and untraded Friday. There were no contracts traded on Wednesday.

Prices are in Canadian dollars per metric ton.