ICE canola futures end modestly higher as crush margins firm

CHICAGO: ICE canola futures settled slightly higher on Friday on bullish chart signals and commercial buying tied to improved crush margins, traders said.

* Most-active November canola settled up $1.60 at $450.50 per tonne, closing above chart support at its 20-day moving average for a third straight session.

* However, ample inventories of the oilseed and generally benign crop weather in the Canadian Prairies hung over the market, limiting rallies.

* The November-January canola spread traded 2,433 times and widened to settle at $7.60, premium January, from $7.30 on Monday.

* Chicago Board of Trade August soybeans edged higher ahead of a meeting next week between negotiators from the United States and top global soy buyer China as the countries seek to end their year-long trade war.

* Paris Matif November rapeseed futures rose 0.1% and Malaysian October palm oil futures rose 0.4%.

* The Canadian dollar was little changed against its US counterpart, recovering from an earlier one-month low which it hit after better-than-expected US data and the ruling out of currency intervention by a top White House adviser.