Reading Time: 3 minutes Pay attention to what you are seeing and hearing at the elevator and from the neighbours in regards to the grade and quality of grain coming off combines this fall. This will help you understand what’s out there and where your production fits into the big picture. Is your quality and protein above or below […] Read more
Use your knowledge to your advantage
You know the quality of your grain. Use your knowledge to maximize profits
Wittal: Thanks and good luck this year
Reading Time: 2 minutes Jan. 29 — Outside markets were neutral to down today on limited trading activity and the fact that the weekend is upon us. Most of the trade in grains was due to funds continuing to roll out of January contracts into March or May contracts. Other speculative traders were taking short positions in anticipation of […] Read more
Wittal: Lentils may have peaked
Reading Time: 2 minutes Jan. 28 — The U.S. dollar pushed a little higher again today, and outside markets were neutral to down slightly. Export sales and shipment numbers were above the weekly targets for all three grains, which helped to support grain futures today. Short-covering was the main reason for the positive support in the grains, and it’s […] Read more
Wittal: Funds brace for possible trading restrictions
Reading Time: 2 minutes Jan. 27 –– The U.S. dollar pushed higher today and crude oil was lower, which in turn led to sharp losses in bean futures today. There’s some concern about U.S. President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address this evening, in which he may announce restrictions on how aggressively banks can trade in the markets, […] Read more
Wittal: Fundamentals pressure grain futures
Reading Time: 2 minutes Jan. 26 — Overall markets were rather quiet again today, which resulted in small losses across the board. The U.S. dollar ended slightly higher on the day, while crude oil and financial indicators were down slightly. Grains were all lower on the day as technical selling became the focus. Fundamental pressures (world inventories) continued to […] Read more
Wittal: No news is bad news
Reading Time: 2 minutes Jan. 25 — The U.S. dollar was stable today, falling slightly, which helped markets to relax a little. It was a rather quiet day with little news to spark much trading activity. Corn ended with small gains, as steady buying helped push futures up. Beans ended lower on continued concerns of large production coming out […] Read more
Wittal: Nice weather pressures barley values
Reading Time: 2 minutes Jan. 22 — The U.S. dollar seems to have powered out as it closed out the day down slightly. The Canadian dollar also ended lower today, as did the Dow Jones and crude oil. Weekly export sales numbers were above expectations for all three grains, which helped to support grains today and slow down the […] Read more
Wittal: Canola market awaits S. American bean crop
Reading Time: 2 minutes Jan. 21 –– The U.S. dollar continued to climb another full cent today, which again had negative impact on gold, crude oil and financial markets. The Canadian dollar ended lower in response to the strong rise in the U.S. dollar, but it was only down a quarter of a cent. Corn and beans were up […] Read more
Wittal: U.S. greenback jumps, U.S. grains drop
Reading Time: 2 minutes Jan. 20 — The big surprise today was the unexpected, aggressive move by the U.S. dollar to jump more than a full cent in trading today, which shocked markets and took a bit of a toll across all markets. This in turn sent the Canadian dollar lower by 1.5 cents today. Gold, crude oil and […] Read more
Wittal: Canadian dollar slips, nudges canola upward
Reading Time: 2 minutes Jan. 19 — With U.S. markets back in business, things seemed to get off to a more positive start as gold, crude oil and financial indexes led the way and closed out the day with gains across the board. U.S. grains were lower, as the U.S. dollar index rose slightly. Also, inventories are not dropping […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
