Canola futures saw strong gains to begin the week as rallies in crude oil and Chicago soybean oil offered support.
Crude oil climbed in the aftermath of US and Israel military strikes on Iran over the weekend, which could crimp oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. The advances in crude spilled over to drive gains in soybean oil, which is used in the production of biofuel. On the other hand, Chicago soybeans only posted a mixed close after an early short covering rally ran out of steam. A lower Canadian dollar added to the upside in canola, along with gains in European rapeseed. Palm oil finished mainly lower.
New-crop canola settled slightly above the $700/tonne benchmark, with May ending just below.
May canola was up $9.50 at $697.20, and November gained $8.80 to $700.70.
