Grain markets this week were extremely volatile as they digested all of the information thrown at them, particularly that out of Washington and Beijing. China proposed a 25% import tax on soybeans, which took the market by a huge surprise (and left many scratching their heads at how China plans to meet their feedstuff demand)…. Read more »
Author: Brennan Turner
Brennan Turner is originally from Foam Lake, SK, where his family started farming the land in the 1920s. After completing his degree in economics from Yale University and then playing some pro hockey, he spent some time working in finance before starting FarmLead.com, a risk-free, transparent online and mobile grain marketplace (app available for iOS & Android). His weekly column is a summary of his free, daily market note, the FarmLead Breakfast Brief. He can be reached via email ([email protected]) or phone (1-855-332-7653).
Finding bullish hope in acres — This week in the grain markets
Grain markets finished the end of March and the calendar quarter on a bit of a high as the USDA provided a slightly bullish catalyst on the last day of trading. This could provide some active, but volatile, trading in the first week of April. Until Thursday, soybean prices and corn prices headed lower as… Read more »
A dose of reality — This week in the grain markets
Grain markets this week took a bit of a geopolitical hit with a subdued approach to more talk of trade war. Specifically, this week, U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to place tariffs on about $50 billion worth of Chinese imports. But China isn’t ready to be pushed around. On Friday, the country announced a… Read more »
Looking for direction — this week in the grain markets
Grain markets had another volatile week as we dealt with conflicting bullish and bearish variables including, but not limited to: exports, acreage forecasts, weather forecasts, and currency swings. Sounds like a normal week, right? First, the Canadian dollar lost nearly 2% this week to close under 76.5 cents USD. This is the first time it… Read more »
Swimming with WASDE: This week in the grain market
This past week’s grain markets were highlighted by the USDA’s March installment of the monthly WASDE report. Going into the report, the market was looking for some big changes to South American production possibilities, but it wasn’t necessarily expecting the American balance sheet to provide the surprises. The USDA dropped its estimate of the Argentine… Read more »
Marching in like a bull — A recap on the grain markets
February 2018 will go down in history as the month that Argentina’s soybean crop hit a new crisis level. Ongoing drought across the region coupled with delays in Brazil’s harvest has unleashed speculations across the soybean complex. For the month, the May contract in Chicago closed at 5.5%, continuing the frantic surge caused by short-term… Read more »
Waiting for sparks (and rain) — This week in the grain markets
Grain markets worked with a four-day work week to end sideways or up from the week previous. Limited rains in Argentina and the U.S. Southern Plains helped add a few sparks. For the May 2018 corn contract, prices moved just half a cent lower to end at 3.745 USD / bushel on the Chicago Board… Read more »
What’s real, what’s rumoured — This week in the grain markets
Grain markets were mostly higher this week as weather premiums continues to whip up some bullish activity. Wheat prices led the grain complex lower Friday as traders prepared for the upcoming holiday weekend. The day had started with small gains due to news of harvest delays down in the Brazilian fields. But profit-taking appeared to… Read more »
From Super Bowl to weather forecasts — This week in the grain markets
Grain prices this week were relatively quiet as the complex digested another World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report from the USDA that didn’t give much fodder to go off. According to the report, total South American soybean production is basically staying the same; U.S. corn exports were raised; and American soybean stocks ballooned… Read more »
Dropping profits — This week in the grain markets
Grain markets this week ended mostly in the red after a stronger performance at the beginning of the week. Traders took profits on the heels of some double-digit moves on the futures boards for most grain and oilseeds on Tuesday. Some geopolitical risk helped fuel the rally, but a “risk on” attitude hit the market… Read more »
Gains amidst uncertainty — This week in the grain markets
Grain markets this week were mainly trading relative to the headlines, taking cues from the U.S. dollar, free trade agreements, and dryness in both South and North America. The U.S. dollar dropped to its lowest level in three years this week after the U.S. Treasury Secretary said he didn’t care which direction it went. The… Read more »
Checking egos at the door — This week in the grain markets
Grain markets this week were almost all higher! (Man, it feels good to say that.) With some production concerns in South America and short-covering in the futures market, we see markets head higher. For the week on the front-month contracts, soymeal was the big winner on the futures board, gaining 4.35%. This was mainly due… Read more »
Bearishness and bills — This week in the grain markets
Grain markets the first full week of January were highlighted by the first World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report of the calendar year on Friday. The report was generally viewed as bearish, but soybeans were able to catch a bid and rally more than a dime thanks to a smaller American yield estimate…. Read more »
This year in the grain markets
Today marks the end of the 2017 calendar trading year. It’s also the end of the fourth quarter of the calendar and the month of December. If we’re looking back at where we started 2017, there isn’t much green on the board. More specifically, since the markets opened 2017 in January, despite the U.S. Dollar… Read more »
Thinning out over Christmas — This week in the grain markets
This week, grain markets were dominated by thinner trading volumes — a bit ironic considering that Jolly St. Nick’s visit is just around the corner. While the volume was thin, the results of trading activity were mixed. Canola price gains were weighed down this week by a stronger Canadian Dollar, only gaining 0.2% while the… Read more »