Interest rates remain of interest to grain traders

Much of the attention in North American grain and oilseed markets has shifted to production prospects in South America, as wheat fields develop in Argentina and farmers in Brazil work on seeding their next soybean and corn crops. Weather there will be a major factor on traders’ radar over the next few months, but larger financial and geopolitical issues will[...]



Grain markets by the numbers

The United States Department of Agriculture released a slew of data on Jan. 12 that could provide nearby direction for futures heading through the relatively quiet winter months. U.S. production The final production numbers for the 2023-24 U.S. growing season placed soybean yields at 50.6 bushels per acre and corn yields at 177.3 bu./ac. Both were well above trade[...]




Will canola find its resolve?

Losing weight and exercising more are common New Year’s resolutions, with many people looking to improve their fitness after the excesses of the holidays. It’s rare for those grand ideas to hold up though, as treadmills gather dust and gym memberships go unused. The agricultural futures markets had their ups and downs in 2023, with[...]



Prices may react to snarled supply lines

Seasonal harvest operations will soon be winding down across Western Canada, with the soybean and corn crops in the U.S. Midwest not too far behind. How easily that grain flows out of the countryside can have a major influence on prices, especially if export demand is curtailed. Mississippi River An estimated 60 per cent of[...]


The complexities of wheat around the world

Wheat is always being planted and harvested somewhere in the world. Canadian spring seeding is wrapping up just as the winter wheat harvest starts in the southern United States. It makes for a dynamic marketing picture.
 Russia/Ukraine: The amount of wheat grown in Russia and Ukraine could have an outsized influence on commodities. Frosts, coupled with lack of[...]

Grain market relativity

On the Prairies, distance between two places can be measured in many ways, and the official unit of kilometres is among the rarest. Grid roads were established every mile well before the introduction of the metric system, while time as a distance measurement is even more common. “It’s about 20 minutes away. Turn left, drive[...]