Winnipeg Commodity Exchange canola futures ended lower on Friday for the ninth consecutive session amid late, heavy fund and commercial position-rolling, traders said. Canola settled 10 cents to $4.00 per tonne lower, with March down 10 cents at $247.00, May down 10 cents at $248.60 and November down $2.10 at $259.00. Volume was estimated at 14,104 contracts, up from 8,008 on Thursday.
About 5,200 March/May spread traded, mainly between $1.00 and $1.20. "Prior to that, we were watching the paint dry," a trader said.
Funds were the main buyers of the spread, while ADM was thought to be the featured seller.
"I really don't know what sparked this thing, but it just went crazy," a canola trader said, noting volumes were poor until the last hour of trade.