Wednesday was a big day for economic news in both Canada and also for our friends south of the border, in the United States. Here at home, the market is digesting the most recent GDP data for November, while the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee made the decision to hold interest rates in the country…. Read More
Category: Markets
Are you holding out for $10 yellow peas, when you know you’re profitable at $8 per bushel? That’s just one of the gems we’ve mined from this quick market recap from none other than FarmLead founder, Brennan Turner. Earlier this week, Turner once agains joined Shaun Haney at the RealAgriculture booth at FarmTech to wade… Read More
Last week there were reasons for confusion on what direction the American dollar might take based on White House policy. Most of the confusion last week was driven by comments made by different members of the White House team. “It’s interesting, it’s almost like currency wars at the moment,” says Matthew Pot of Grain Perspectives… Read More
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
With adequate supplies of most crops, the grain and oilseed market is not giving Western Canadian farmers a strong signal to plant more of any major crop in 2018. At the same time, India’s tariffs on pulse crops have producers looking for alternatives to peas and lentils for some acres. From a strictly marketing standpoint,… Read More
Oat futures have climbed more than 30 cents a bushel since the start of the new year, raising the question: will more acres switch from wheat to oats? As of Wednesday, nearby and new crop oat futures in Chicago were in the 42 to 45 percent range relative to Minneapolis wheat. The flatter, quieter spot… Read More
In a winter where most crop markets don’t appear to be trying to buy more acres, mustard prices have been an exception. “For farmers looking for profitable opportunities, mustard is sticking out like a sore thumb right now,” says Chuck Penner of LeftField Commodity Research in the video below, filmed at CropSphere in Saskatoon earlier… Read More
When trying to explain why wheat prices are where they are, there are some concerns with dryness and protein levels affecting regional bids, but there is one dominant factor that’s underlying the entire market: Russia and its bumper crops. World wheat carryout has grown by over 20 percent in the last three years, with Russia… Read More
As the Bank of Canada raised its target interest rate a 1/4 point this week, there is disagreement in how the Canadian economy will fare in 2018. While one or two more rate hikes are expected in 2018, there are also concerns on the horizon for the Canadian economy. As we hear from Farm Credit… Read More
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
The Bank of Canada raised the overnight rate target to 1.25 percent this week, with a cautionary note that touched on the uncertainty around the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The announcement caused brief volatility in the Canadian dollar, but will this change, or the one or two other hikes expected by economists affect cattle… Read More
The Bank of Canada raised target rates this morning by 0.25 percent. The Canadian dollar (CAD) initially responded by falling over a half cent, but closed the day slightly higher. While rate hike announcements tend to inspire a bullish dollar, what is often overlooked is what the market was expecting prior to the announcement. In… Read More
As growers look ahead to seeding, it seems every single cropping option has pricing issues, but there also opportunities to look for. Supply has been a challenge for wheat and corn while soybeans and canola have benefited from strong demand that has assisted in creeping acres higher. READ: 7 Deadly Sins of Grain Marketing Shaun… Read More
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
The USDA published some larger-than-expected estimates for corn and wheat in its January reports published on Friday, but the futures market — particularly for corn — showed little response. The January 12th data release included the monthly WASDE report, the annual Crop Production summary, the December 31st quarterly stocks report, and the first Winter Wheat Seedings… Read More