ICE canola notches first weekly gain in six weeks

WINNIPEG: ICE Canada canola futures rose on Friday in thin volume to finish with its first weekly gain in six weeks.

* Stronger US soy futures, which were supported by a weak US dollar, short-covering and worries that Midwest rains might fall short, lifted canola.

* Total canola volume was light with about 10,300 contracts.

* Canola may come under pressure from harvest in coming weeks, with some views that farmers are storing more old-crop canola than expected - trader. Trade has also raised canola harvest view to 13.6 million tonnes.

* November canola futures gained 90 cents at $554.40 per tonne on volume of 4,958 contracts. Registered weekly gain of 0.8 percent.

* January canola gained 90 cents at $562.80 on volume of 2,720 contracts.

* November-January spread traded 1,858 times, settling at a January premium of $8.40.

* Chicago September soybeans settled up 7-3/4 US cents to US$13.59-3/4 per bushel.

* MATIF November rapeseed settled up 0.5 percent.

* The Canadian dollar was trading around $0.9886 to the US dollar, or US$1.0115 at 1:43 p.m. CDT (1843 GMT), little changed from Thursday's session close at $0.9884 to the US dollar, or US$1.0117.

* NYMEX crude oil slipped 0.2 percent at US$82.26 per barrel.

* Canada weekly canola crushings dip 4 percent.

* Hail damages Saskatchewan, Alberta crops.

* Trade awaiting next Wednesday's Statistics Canada report, the government agency's first forecast of crop production based on a farmer survey.

Copyright Reuters, 2011