ICE canola ends mixed after hitting 5-month high

WINNIPEG: ICE Canada canola futures settled narrowly mixed on Wednesday as light profit-taking after a five-month high offset support from firm cash markets and exporter pricing, traders said.

* March canola settled 10 cents higher at $558.40 a tonne on volume of 7,397 lots. The March contract has closed higher or unchanged for 13 straight sessions.

* March canola hit $559.90 per tonne, the highest spot price since Sept. 16. Canola is up more than 7 percent so far in February, on track for its biggest monthly gain in more than a year.

* Most-active May ended down 10 cents at $560.00 on volume of 16,558 contracts.

* Total canola market volume was 34,098 contracts.

* Spreading was active as traders continued rolling March positions forward. March/May traded 6,935 times at $1.50 to $2, premium May. May/July traded 3,302 times at $1.90 to $3.20, premium July.

* CBOT May soybeans settled up 1-3/4 US cents at US$12.78-3/4 per bushel, erasing early losses as corn rallied toward the close.

* MATIF May rapeseed settled flat.

* The Canadian dollar was trading at 0.9989 against the US dollar, or US$1.0011, down from its finish at $0.9966 versus the US dollar, or US$1.0034, on Tuesday.

* US light crude oil edged higher, settling up 3 US cents at $106.28 per barrel.

* USDA confirmed sales of 175,000 tonnes of US soybeans to China for 2012/13 delivery.

* Sales of Brazil's 2011/12 soybean crop rose to 53 percent of total expected production, up from 51 percent a week earlier, analysts Celeres said. The firm said Brazil's soy harvest was 19 percent complete by Feb. 17, up from 11 percent a week earlier.