Continuing anxiety about U.S. soybean exports to China and ideal crop weather in South American lowered oilseed prices Friday.
The strong Canadian dollar, which climbed higher than 98 cents US, added downward pressure to canola futures.
The loonie soared after Statistics Canada reported that the unemployment rate fell to 8.2 percent in February from 8.3 percent in January.
For the week, the May canola contract fell 1.3 percent.
On their last day of trade, March canola futures fell $5.10 Cdn to $379.50 per tonne on no trades.
The most active May contract fell $5.10 to $377.50 on 5,277 trades. The previous day’s best basis was steady at -$7.75 per tonne off the May contract in the par region, according to the Winnipeg ICE Futures daily report.
The 14-day Relative Strength Index for May canola was 28, according to BarChart.com. The rule of thumb is an RSI of 30 indicates an oversold market and 70 indicates over ought.
July fell $5.10 to $383.10 on 1,263 trades.
New crop November fell $4.60 to $387.20 per tonne on 574 trades.
The Canadian dollar at noon was 98.16 cents US, up from 97.42 cents at noon the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was $1.0187 Cdn.
The lightly traded Winnipeg March barley contract closed its final day steady at $150 per tonne with no trades. May was steady at $154 on no trades and only 11 open interest contracts.
May soybeans fell five cents to $9.255 US per bushel. November soybeans fell 2.5 cents to $9.14 per bu.
March oats fell 2.5 cents to 2.09 per bu.
Light crude oil for April delivery fell 87 cents to $81.24 per barrel.
The Canadian Oilseed Processors Association said members crushed 101,841 tonnes of canola in the week ending March 10. That was an increase of 1.2 percent from the week before.
The capacity use rate rose to 79.3 percent from 78.3 percent.
The crush is now generally more than 100,000 tonnes a week and the Richardson plant in Yorkton, Sask., is expected to open in June.
