ICE canola futures end mixed, underpinned by stronger soy

WINNIPEG: ICE canola futures finished mixed on Monday, underpinned by strength in soybeans on ideas that drier US weather might have allowed farmers to plant more corn instead of soybeans.

* Canola's strength was multiplied by investors covering part of a large net short position, a trader said.

* July canola added $1.40 to $454.40 per tonne.

* November canola lost 50 cents to $464.20 per tonne.

* Weekend rains were beneficial for much of Alberta and Manitoba, but sporadic for Saskatchewan, where dryness is most acute, Exceed Grain Marketing analyst Wayne Palmer said in a note.

* July-November canola spread traded a brisk 15,768 times.

* Chicago July soybeans gained on position-squaring ahead of a government report on Tuesday, and US planting uncertainty.

* Paris Matif August rapeseed futures edged higher and Malaysian August palm oil futures dipped.

* The Canadian dollar was little changed against its broadly stronger US counterpart on Monday, pulling back from an earlier three-month high which was reached after the United States and Mexico announced a deal on immigration.