ICE Canadian canola futures were sharply lower Thursday afternoon and down from recent 2-1/2 year highs on profit taking in the wake of steep declines in US soybean futures, traders said. Hedge selling was noted as farmers took advantage of this week's high canola prices.
Chicago soybeans finished about 18 cents per bushel lower in nearby months on fund selling and a firm US dollar. The March canola settled down $6.10 at $611.70 on volume of 9,098 contracts. New-crop November canola down $8.70 at $596.50, volume 1,742. Canada's dollar slipped to lowest level in more than a week on Thursday pressured by risk aversion. Canadian dollar was trading at $0.9955 to the US dollar or US $1.0045 at 3:18 pm CST (2118 GMT), down from Wednesday's North American session close of C$0.9939.