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
The United Kingdom voted and the markets reacted. If you are a political or economics junkie, it was must-watch coverage of the BREXIT vote night. United Kingdom voters decided by a slight majority to leave the European Union. As one would expect, with “leave” or “stay”, the markets would react. The Pound Sterling rocked lower through the… Read More
The Canadian dollar could be settling in for some quieter time after a wild ride over the last year. In May 2015, the loonie traded at over 83 cents US. It then went for a slide, bottoming out in mid-January at around 68 cents before rallying aggressively, touching 80 cents in early May. The dollar has since retreated down to around… Read More
Grains continued their push higher to end the month of April as a multitude of factors extended the fenceline for bulls to run along. Money flows into the commodity sector have been the biggest reason for the rally, as the commodity complex had its best one-month since 2010, beating all other asset classes (i.e. stocks,… Read More
A lot of focus in the market last week was on the wheat market as warm weather from Kiev to Kansas is pushing fall-seeded crops out of dormancy much earlier than usual. After last week’s best weekly gain for wheat since October, investors’ focus will now turn to weather forecasts and the stocks and acreage… Read More
While the number of CWRS wheat acres on the prairies is expected to drop by around 1.5 million, the trend toward more growing more high-yielding wheat varieties will continue, according to the general manager of FarmLink Marketing Solutions. Meanwhile, pea and lentil acres are expected to rise dramatically (surprise!), but seed supply will be a… Read More
Grains continued to trade sideways to lower through the end of February as the data points that keep coming do not support a reversal of the bearish market fundamentals. The market is taking into account more crop conditions from Europe and South America, while adjusting for the new forecasts for U.S. grain supply, demand, and… Read More
Grains ended the month of January making up some gains from the tough losses that they started the year off with. Some bullish acreage and weather news helped get some of shorts in the wheat market covered, pushing the complex actually up almost 2% on the futures boards! Rounding out the complex, corn continued to… Read More
With planting season around the corner, markets are starting to focus on acreage expectations, looking for answers to questions like “how high will lentil acres actually be in Western Canada and the northern US?” But while there’s plenty of talk about pulses, there are also questions to be answered about 2016 wheat and canola production,… Read More
We’re talking about everything from the state of the US and Canadian economies to SaskCanola’s effort to share how many farmers view modern ag technology through the “License to Farm” film. After spending most of the week at Ag Days in Brandon, Kelvin Heppner host of this week’s news podcast and is joined by a… Read More
Agriculture is poised to play a much larger role in the Canadian economy thanks to impacts of climate change and declining revenues from oil extraction, says well-known author and economist Jeff Rubin. “Climate change has fatal implications for our previous ambitions of becoming an energy superpower, but it’s going to make other assets and resources in… Read More
Commodity prices continue to trade flat to lower as Chinese stock market losses continue to weigh heavy on broader markets, including commodities, forcing broader optimism for global economic growth to fade. All grain values are lower in the first few weeks of 2016 but with some notables being the front month contracts for oats below… Read More
While U.S. farmers are adjusting to significantly lower grain prices, declining currency values have buffered growers in Canada and many other parts of the world. U.S. futures have dropped off, but cash values in Canada have maintained their value, and in some cases, have risen, thanks to the weakness with the Canadian dollar. “The devaluing of the… Read More
2015 hasn’t necessarily been a great year for grains complex, let alone anyone who works in the commodity sector. The most watched fall from grace came in the form of oil prices continuing to be pushed lower by sustained production highs by the likes of O.P.E.C. and the U.S.A., who also just recently announced they’re… Read More
With the U.S. Federal Reserve raising interest rates for the first time in almost a decade and the Bank of Canada suggesting it’s considering negative interest rates, how much lower can the Canadian loonie drop relative to the U.S. dollar? It’s an important question when determining whether to lock in basis levels, as movement in the currency… Read More