Markets move up and down on news, anticipation and results. The currency market has some somewhat predictable drivers of the value of a given country’s currency. This past week, the United States Federal Reserve raised interest rates 0.25% and the impact in the Canadian Dollar value against the US dollar was a head scratcher. Although… Read more »
Category: Currency Markets
Speculative Support, Pulse Export Uncertainty & NHL Playoff Picks — Jon Driedger
Record production and big supplies continue to weigh on grain markets, and yet, corn and soybean futures have remained relatively strong, and even trended higher, since fall. “There’s definitely been a shift in the narrative, from an outside fund, speculative money perspective,” explains Jon Driedger of FarmLink Marketing Solutions in this market conversation. Driedger joined Shaun… Read more »
Accounting For Everything — This Week in the Grain Market
Grains this week trended slightly lower as concerns over crop potential and slowing sales muted any bullish headlines coming from new USDA acreage reports. Canola and oats were down 0.45% and 0.5% respectively compared to a week ago while corn and wheat lost 1.1% and 1.7% each. The soybean complex took the biggest hit though,… Read more »
Playing Teeter-Totter — This Week in the Grain Markets
Grain markets through the first full week of February swayed a bit on geopolitical risk and the market digesting the February WASDE report from the USDA. Wheat was the biggest winner of the week, thanks to smaller-than-expected global stocks in the report, up 4% for the week while, on the flipside, oats was the worst… Read more »
Going Sideways — This Week in the Grain Market
Grain markets ended the month of January on the downtrend thanks to more geopolitical (aka President Trump) risk after reaching new highs the week before on continued weather concerns out of South America. Oats was again the main winner, up 2.55% for the week while wheat wasn’t farm behind, gaining 2.15%. With the Canadian Loonie… Read more »
Crop Week Market Panel: Winter Selling Opportunities, Acreage Expectations, and the Evolution of Grain Marketing
Having turned the page on the calendar and last year’s crop, the Western Canadian Crop Production Show in Saskatoon in early January provides an opportunity each year to get a read on crop plans and sentiment heading into another growing season on the prairies. As part of our radio coverage in Saskatoon this week, we hosted a… Read more »
Setting the Stage for 2017 Grain Market Moves
After starting 2017 in the red, the grains market rallied quite well this week, however, corn and oilseeds are still below their highs seen in October and November. A couple of headlines that gained traction over the holidays were the South American weather (especially in Argentina), Egyptian wheat tenders, Black Sea winterkill risks, and continued… Read more »
Grains Markets 2016: Bullish Headlines & Bearish Facts
Grain markets headed lower this week as the market dealt with lower volume and profit-taking ahead of the winter holidays. Since last Friday, the Canadian Loonie lost 1.4% to head into the Christmas weekend below 74 cents USD as Trump economic policies that are trickling out continue to support the U.S. economy more than they… Read more »
Holiday Traditions — This Week in the Grain Markets
Grains markets cruised through the middle of December slightly lower to unchanged as export and domestic demand numbers tried to offset some changing monetary policy from the U.S. Federal Reserve. The U.S. Dollar climbed 1.3% for the week, making U.S.-based grains more expensive relative other origins. Oats was the only thing that made the green… Read more »
Taking A Few Hits — This Week in the Grain Markets
Grain markets see-sawed this week on multiple crop production reports, the likelihood of La Nina being played down, and speculators moving in and out of positions like a 3-year old at church. Oats was the winner again for the week, up 5.35%, followed by corn at 3.3%. Wheat and soybeans also fared well, up 2.15%… Read more »
Profit Taking & Waiting on Reports — This Week in the Grain Markets
Grains pulled back from last week’s highs as profits got locked in to end November and the trade got really choppy. The news that OPEC would cut production by 1.2 million barrels for six months couldn’t help oilseeds recover from its highs made last week, but canola did track soy oil, as each were up 0.35%… Read more »
Canola Supplies Could Run Tight With Crushers Off to Strong Start
Canola supplies could be tight this year, as the market awaits Statistics Canada’s new crop production estimates on Tuesday (Dec. 6.) The canola number, which is expected to fall somewhere between 18.2 and 19.7 million tonnes, will have to be interpreted with the timing of StatsCan’s survey in mind. The agency surveyed farmers from Oct. 21… Read more »
Feeling Great Again? — This Week in the Grain Markets
One week after Donald Trump was voted in as the next President of the United States of America, the U.S. Dollar hit a 14-year high and surprisingly, commodities didn’t tank. After a volatile election and W.A.S.D.E. week, all grains ended up for the week, led by oats which gained 2.8% since last Friday. Corn was… Read more »
Beef Market Update: Year-Over-Year Carcass Weights Lower for the First Time in 3 Years
In the last month, live cattle prices have finally stabilized and it’s welcome relief for everyone in the cattle business. Fundamentally, what is supporting this stability? According to Anne Wasko, with Gateway Livestock, there are tighter cattle supplies, cattle feeders are current, carcass weights are lower than a year ago for the first time since… Read more »
U.S. Election Tops Concerns for the Canadian Economy: BMO’s Chief Economist
Anti-trade messages from both U.S. presidential candidates are undoubtedly troubling for the future of the Canadian economy, especially in export-oriented sectors like agriculture. “That to me would be the number one concern when we look over the next six months — what happens in the U.S. election and what happens afterwards,” said Douglas Porter, chief economist… Read more »