ICE Canadian canola futures closed narrowly mixed on Thursday, with contracts paring gains in the final minutes of trade on technical selling and strength in the Canadian dollar, traders said. Market traded higher for much of the session after Statistics Canada projected 2015 Canadian canola seedings at 19.4 million acres, below the average trade estimate of 20.2 million and down 4.5 percent from 2014.
Some analysts were skeptical of the plantings figure and predicted actual canola plantings would surpass the government's projection, which was based on surveys conducted in early March. May canola settled up 20 cents at $445.30 per tonne after hitting chart resistance at its 100-day average near $449.50.
July settled down 10 cents at $451.40, retreating after matching Tuesday's high of $456. November ended unchanged at $446 a tonne after posting a one-week high at $450.90. Chicago Board of Trade May soybeans settled up 7-3/4 US cents per bushel or 0.7 percent, while Malaysian July palm oil fell 0.1 percent.