March canola rose 1.3 percent on the week, its best showing in seven weeks.
However, oilseeds continue to be caught in a narrow trading range, held down by the prospect of a huge South American soybean crop and ample stocks of domestic canola.
Lack of fresh export business also weighed on canola prices, but lack of aggressive hedging by grain companies allowed nearby canola contracts to rise. New crop months fell.
On Friday, March canola rose 40 cents to close at $384.70 per tonne on 5,549 trades.
May rose 70 cents to $391.10 on 9,816 trades. New crop November fell $2.80 to $400.10 per tonne on 852 trades.
The Canadian dollar at noon Friday was 95.97 cents US, up from 95.68 cents at noon the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was $1.042 Cdn.
The Winnipeg March barley contract was steady at $140.30 per tonne with no trades. May was also steady at $150 on no trade.
March soybeans fell three cents to $9.45 US per bushel. November soybeans fell 5.25 cents to $9.26 per bu.
Light crude oil in New York for March delivery closed at $79.50 US per barrel, up 44 cents.
The canola crush leapt 16.2 percent from the previous week.
The Canadian Oilseed Processors Association said 100,472 tonnes were crushed in the week ending Feb. 17. Several factors contributed to the increased crush, including the start up of the LDM plant in Yorkton, Sask., and the lifting late last year of the import watch that the United States had on Cargill’s plant in Clavet, Sask., because of salmonella concerns.
Also, Viterra’s crush plant at Ste. Agathe, Man., is now included in COPA’s statistics.
On Monday, the Canadian Wheat Board will release its first Pool Return Outlook for 2010-11 at its Grainworld conference in Winnipeg.
