Reading Time: 3 minutes Grains fell for a third straight session on Thursday on mild relief from the severe drought in the U.S. Midwest farm belt, raising questions if the biggest two-month rally in corn since the last major drought in 1988 may have peaked. Light showers overnight in the Midwest and some switching out of investments to the […] Read more
Grain prices in 3-day retreat; has rally paused or peaked?
Drought rally retreats, losses pared by end-user buying
Reading Time: 3 minutes U.S. grains fell on Wednesday as investors cashed in profits after a blistering rally, but losses narrowed at the close by more than half as end users purchased grain and as updated weather outlooks scaled back rain forecasts for the Midwest. Analysts said “buying on the breaks” signalled that rallies in corn and soybeans still […] Read more
Corn continues rally, wheat pulls back
Reading Time: 3 minutes Corn futures fell after rising to new contract highs on Tuesday on month-end profit taking, with the spot contract rising 20 per cent for the month to post the biggest two-month rally since the last major drought of 1988. Gains for the months of June and July totalled 45 per cent as the worst drought […] Read more
Corn and soy prices heading for big monthly gain
Reading Time: 3 minutes U.S. soybeans rallied nearly 3 per cent on Monday on fears that the crippling U.S. drought would further shrink the crop in the world’s top grains exporter. The rally pushed prices toward their biggest monthly gain in more than four years. Corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade rose more than 2 per cent, […] Read more
U.S. corn, soy hit record highs, stir food crisis fear
Reading Time: 3 minutes Corn and soybeans soared to record highs on Thursday as the worsening drought in the U.S. farm belt stirred fears of a food crisis, with prices coming off peaks after investors cashed out of the biggest grains rally since 2008. Corn prices crossed into uncharted territory above $8 per bushel — about three-and-a-half times the […] Read more
U.S. soybeans rally to record high as drought fears mount
Reading Time: 3 minutes U.S. soybeans rallied to a record high Wednesday on fears that the worst drought in 56 years, which has devastated the corn crop, will now turn on soybeans as forecasts called for continued hot and dry weather. Corn extended gains to within striking distance of a record $8 per bushel, adding two per cent to […] Read more
U.S. corn ends flat, but tracks $8 amid drought
Reading Time: 3 minutes Corn futures ended flat on Tuesday as investors took profits after updated forecasts raised the chance of rain in the eastern U.S. Midwest, but an expanding drought in the world’s top grain exporter kept the market on a bullish track. Calls for upwards of an inch to 1-1/2 inches of rain this week and next […] Read more
U.S. cattle herd at 60-year low
Reading Time: 3 minutes The U.S. cattle herd has shrunk for the fifth straight year to a 60-year low, a government report showed on Friday, as a devastating drought and record high feed costs hit production, which will likely mean even higher beef prices for consumers. One of the worst droughts since the Dust Bowl days in the 1930s […] Read more
Bull run in U.S. cattle may lose steam, for now
Reading Time: 3 minutes Texas rancher Jim Selman is on the verge of going out of the cattle business, a victim of one of the worst droughts since the Dust Bowl in the 1930s. The more than 300 cattle on his 3,000-acre ranch in Gonzales County have dwindled to a mere seven, as the verdant pastures turned into dried-up […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
