Canadian canola futures end low

Canadian canola futures slid early on Wednesday with spillover pressure from weaker US soybeans and crude oil, traders said. Profit-taking also weighed down canola, after the nearby month hit the highest price since mid-2008 earlier this week on a continuation chart. Strong end-user demand from crushers and exporters kept canola underpinned.
Losses muted for nearby months with tight old-crop supplies and expectations for a record-large canola acreage this spring in Western Canada. May canola lost 80 cents to $619.70 per tonne on volume of 763 contracts at 8:19 am CDT (1319 GMT). New-crop November canola lost $3.40 to $577.50 per tonne on volume of 897 contracts. Traders see canola down $1 to $2 at Chicago Board of Trade open CBOT soybeans called to open down 3 to 5 US cents per bushel on profit-taking. The Canadian dollar was trading at $0.9961 against the US dollar or US $1.0039 at 8:16 am CDT (1316 GMT), down from Tuesday's close at $0.9904 against the US dollar, or US $1.0097.