Commodity markets Archives | Manitoba Co-operator

We don’t know exactly how interest rate trends will evolve nor what the consequences will be. – David Derwin.

As the calendar turns

2020 illustrated volatility in stunning fashion for market watchers

By David Derwin January 11, 2021

It’s that time of year again, as another calendar page turns. I’m sure we’re glad to see the end to this year, although that doesn’t mean things have magically changed on January 1. At least now we can take a look back with a better understanding of where we’ve been to help figure out where

Volatility is more of a mathematical definition of how much a market will likely move in the future based on past fluctuations.

Markets

Volatile times need a market strategy

Think of these tools as an insurance policy where you pay a fee to avoid risks

By David Derwin May 6, 2020

Given what’s happened in the markets in the past couple of months, it’s a good time to revisit risk: how to think about it, how to manage it and its practical impact on marketing and hedging. As the coronavirus was unleashing its effects on the markets, I was also reading an interesting book called An

Futures markets, Markets

The stocks-to-use ratio is an important but not perfect market metric

By David Derwin March 3, 2020

There are a lot of ways to analyze the fundamental situation of grain markets. You can look at production figures, export numbers, inventories, farmer deliveries as well as elevators supplies. Recently, I’ve heard a lot about stocks-to-use ratio as a fundamental gauge of supply and demand. So naturally, I ask myself: “What kind of historical

Crops, Markets

U.S. grains: Corn hits two-week low on virus worries

By GFM Network News, Julie Ingwersen February 3, 2020

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures fell to a two-week low on Monday as traders worried that the fallout from the coronavirus epidemic could include an economic hit to China, traders said. But soybean and wheat futures ended modestly higher, rebounding from multimonth lows on light bargain buying, strength in soyoil and supportive soybean

Crops, Currency markets, Markets

Derwin: Dollar direction signals hard to decipher

By David Derwin July 16, 2019

Every week the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) releases its Commitments of Traders (COT) report. But just how committed are the traders shown in those trading activity reports? When you look at what traders can also do in the cash, over-the-counter and physical markets associated with those futures contracts, it’s difficult to say for sure. This

Corn has recently been under pressure from big crop pegs out of South America and chart-based selling, as well as general uncertainty in the markets over the future of U.S.-China trade.

Comment, Markets

Comment: Long positions on corn liquidated

Funds sold their entire CBOT corn long position undetected during U.S. govt. shutdown

By Karen Braun March 4, 2019

Within the span of six weeks, commodity funds dumped bullish bets in Chicago-traded corn futures and options without the market’s knowledge. Market participants were under the impression that speculators closed out January relatively optimistic toward the grains. However, data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) confirmed otherwise on Feb. 19. Hedge funds and

Crops, Weather

Canada’s ag output seen likely rising under climate change

By GFM Network News, MarketsFarm Team September 18, 2018

CNS Canada — A new United Nations report suggests just how climate change will reshape agriculture by 2050 — and that Canada’s production capacity stands to benefit. International trade will play an ever-larger role in helping to feed people in food-deficient regions, as warmer temperatures and less precipitation will damage yields in many tropical areas,

Saskatchewan farming prices – in 2016 dollars per acre.

Columns, Markets

Risk and volatility not necessarily same

Hedging Your Bets: Current canola and farmland prices are examples of markets at risk of a sudden change

By David Derwin August 1, 2018

When thinking about risk, there can be a lot of different interpretations. Risk does not have to mean volatility but the two tend to work in conjunction. One way to define risk is ‘the consequence of not meeting your goals.’ One of my favourite authors on the topic of market risk and practical trading ideas

A field of wheat near Rocanville, Sask., on July 11, 2017.

Crops, News

Farmers watch markets rally as crops wither

Weather and market analyst Bruce Burnett took a  first-hand look at crops across the West

By Laura Rance July 28, 2017

If Glacier FarmMedia weather and market analyst Bruce Burnett had to pick one word to sum up the state of the Prairie crop this summer, it would be “variable.” Burnett logged a 4,500-km crop tour across the Prairies in mid-July and reported in at the third annual Ag in Motion farm show about what he

Grain Markets, Markets

Traders keep canola prices above the $500 support mark

Drought in the U.S. spring wheat area continues  as the main feature of the wheat market

By Dave Sims July 28, 2017

ICE Futures Canada canola contracts chopped around for the week ended July 21, torn between conflicting weather issues, before finally ending relatively unchanged. Early in the week, ideas took hold that canola fields in some parts of Saskatchewan and Alberta had likely suffered irreversible damage due to the heat stress suffered in late June and

India offers to suspend farm reforms

U.K. to ask to join Trans-Pacific trading bloc ‘shortly’

ICE weekly outlook: Potential remains for higher canola prices

GFM Network News