CHICAGO: ICE Canada canola futures closed mostly lower on Friday pressured by weakness in Chicago Board of Trade soybean and soyoil futures, traders said. The front-month contract, however, firmed in thin trading as investment funds exited short positions before the contract enters its delivery period.

The benchmark May canola futures contract dropped below its 10-day, 20-day and 30-day moving averages during the session, bottoming out at a one-week low. May canola futures settled $3.00 lower at $819.70 per tonne. The contract posted a weekly decline of 0.07%.

March canola gained $1.90 to $834.50 per tonne in thin trading. The March-May canola spread, the most active inter-month spread, traded 3,554 times. The May-July spread traded 2,334 times and July-November traded 1,567 times. Chicago Board of Trade May soybean futures settled down 8 cents at US $15.19-1/4 a bushel. Euronext May rapeseed futures dropped 0.5%.

ICE Canada canola futures fell on Thursday, pressured by profit taking, traders said. Canola firmed early in the session but turned lower after failing to reach the one-month high it hit on Wednesday. Weakness in soybean oil also weighed on canola prices. Traders also noted a lack of export demand.

May canola futures, the most active contract, dropped $9.00 to settle at $822.70 per tonne. Technical resistance was noted at the contract’s 40-day moving average. March canola gained $6.60 to $839.10 per tonne in thin trading. The contract turned lower after peaking at $842.50, which was just 10 cents below the Wednesday’s top, the highest for the front-month contract since Jan. 19.

The May-July canola spread, the most active inter-month spread, traded 6,490 times. The March-May spread traded 5,273 times and July-November traded 1,671 times. Chicago Board of Trade May soybean futures settled down 7-1/2 cents at US $15.27-1/4 a bushel.