ICE Canadian canola futures closed mixed on Friday amid a combination of hedge pressure, exporter short covering and a higher dollar. May canola fell 40 cents to $409.70 on a volume of 7,652 while July eased 20 cents to $406.90 on 3,943 contracts. November rose 20 cents to $405 on 1,868 contracts. There were 1,498 May/July spreads at $5.50 to 50 cents; 1,393 July/November spreads at $3.00 to 30 cents.
Traders said the hedge pressure indicated a pickup in farmer selling. Chicago Board of Trade May soyabeans rose 14 US cents to US $8.66 a bushel. Crude oil ended US $1.91 higher at US $45.52 per barrel. Canola was also weighed down by the dollar, which rose against the US currency. It was trading at C$1.2860 to the US dollar, or 77.76 US cents, at 1459 CST (2059 GMT), up from Thursdays close of C$1.2884 to the US dollar, or 77.62 US cents.