ICE Canadian canola futures plunged 3.1 percent to their lowest in nearly two weeks on Friday after the Canola Council of Canada said that Chinese importers have stopped buying Canadian canola seed. The trade group also said that purchases are not expected to resume anytime soon.
The sharp sell-off reversed a rally that had seen canola prices rise in five of the previous six sessions to their highest since Feb. 26. May canola futures ended $14.30 lower at $453.90 per tonne. July canola was down $14.10 at $462.50.
Chicago May soyabeans finished 6-3/4 US cents lower at US$9.03-3/4 per bushel.
The Canadian dollar weakened to an 11-day low against its US counterpart on Friday as the greenback broadly climbed and data supported the view of a slowing domestic economy that rules out further Bank of Canada interest rate hikes in the near term. Malaysian May palm oil futures eased 0.14 percent on Friday.