ICE Canadian canola futures closed slightly lower on Monday, pressured by farmer selling, traders said. Inter-month spreading was the major feature as traders roll January positions to March. Farmer selling has picked up, causing hedge pressure from grain companies. Crushers were buying with improving margins. January canola slipped 70 cents to settle at $411.50 per tonne with a volume of 7,056 contracts.
March dropped 50 cents to settle at $418.70 per tonne on a volume of 8,343 contracts. The January-March spread traded 6,000 times, with a premium on March between $6.70 and $7.50. CBOT January soyabean futures settled 20 US cents higher at US $10.55 per bushel, boosted by a weakening US dollar.
The Canadian dollar was trading at $1.0594 against the US currency, or 94.39 US cents, at 1:05 pm CST (1905), little changed from Friday's close of $1.0599, or 94.35 US cents. The Canadian dollar was trading higher earlier, pressuring the canola market, a trader said. Light crude oil fell 36 US cents to settle at US $69.51 per barrel. The European Union may harvest 21 million tonnes of rapeseed in the summer 2010 crop, challenging the record of 20.9 million tonnes, a Bunge executive said on Monday.