WINNIPEG: ICE Canada canola futures finished mostly higher on Thursday, in choppy trade ahead of the weekend, but notched a slight weekly loss.
* Old-crop May and July months rose, and are trading at large premiums to new-crop months due to tight supplies and projections for a record-large canola acreage.
* ICE Canada and US grain markets closed for Good Friday.
* Modest crusher buying seen.
* May canola gained 90 cents at $621.60 per tonne on volume of 12,383 contracts. Finished with 0.1 percent weekly loss, their second in three weeks.
* July canola added 50 cents to $617.10 per tonne on volume of 9,422 contracts. Back months slipped.
* May-July spread traded 6,828 times, settling at a May premium of $4.50. July-November spread widened to a July premium of $36.40, trading 1,882 times.
* Chicago May soybeans added 14-1/2 US cents to US$14.34 per bushel on strong US exports and South American crop worries. May soyoil gained 0.62 cent to 56.64 US cents per lb.
* MATIF May rapeseed gained 0.8 percent.
* The Canadian dollar was trading at $0.9933 against the US dollar or US$1.0067 at 1:15 p.m. CDT (1815 GMT), up from Wednesday's close at $0.9964 versus the US currency, or US$1.0036.
* US light crude oil gained 1.8 percent at $103.31 per barrel.