ICE Canadian canola futures closed higher on Friday, led by technical buying in the spot May contract and weakness in the Canadian dollar. May canola settled up $4.10 at $449.40 per tonne, near chart resistance at its 100-day moving average. July settled up 20 cents at $451.60 and November ended up 30 cents at $446.30 a tonne.
Traders were still digesting Statistics Canada's forecast on Thursday of 2015 Canadian canola seedings at 19.4 million acres, below trade expectations and down 4.5 percent from 2014. Some analysts predict that actual canola plantings will surpass the government's figure, which was based on surveys conducted in early March. Chicago Board of Trade May soybeans fell 8-1/2 US cents per bushel or 1.1 percent and Malaysian July palm oil fell 0.2 percent. The Canadian dollar was at $1.2172 to the US dollar, or 82.16 US cents, down from the Bank of Canada's official close Thursday of $1.2146, or 82.33 US cents.