File photo of wild birds in flight over a lake in Uruguay. (Paz Roca/iStock/Getty Images)

More South American nations report bird flu cases

Brazil still remains free of contagion

Reading Time: 2 minutes Sao Paulo | Reuters — The confirmation of more bird flu cases in South America raised alarm bells in Brazil, which remains free of contagion even after its close neighbours Argentina and Uruguay confirmed cases there on Wednesday. In a press conference to discuss the global sanitary hazard, Brazilian Agriculture Minister Carlos Favaro said Brazil, […] Read more

CBOT March 2023 soft red winter wheat with 20-day moving average, MGEX March 2023 hard red spring wheat (yellow line) and K.C. March 2023 hard red winter wheat (orange line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Chicago wheat, corn, soy firm on WASDE report

South America's weather drags on competing exports

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago wheat, corn and soybean futures firmed on Wednesday, supported by weather conditions in South America that hamper rival exports, though higher-than-expected U.S. supplies limited gains. The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) added 15 cents to $7.64-3/4 a bushel (all figures US$). CBOT soybeans added 4-1/2 […] Read more


(Pabradyphoto/iStock/Getty Images)

CBOT weekly outlook: Weather outweighs U.S. Fed rate hike announcement

'People are returning to the Argentine situation'

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Week-long rallies for grain futures on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) were disrupted by the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest key interest rate announcement on Wednesday. The Fed revealed it is raising its key interest rate by 25 basis points in its ongoing fight against inflation. While the central bank acknowledged inflation is […] Read more

Brazilian meatpacker JBS SA’s logo on a tower in Jundiai, northwest of Sao Paulo in southeastern Brazil, on June 1, 2017. (File photo: Reuters/Paulo Whitaker)

Beef consumption to rise in China, JBS predicts

China seen as more competitive in domestic chicken, pork markets

Reading Time: < 1 minute Sao Paulo | Reuters — Demand for beef in China is expected to rise as the country still has relatively low per capita consumption, Gilberto Tomazoni, chief executive of JBS SA, said on Wednesday during a business conference. He said Brazil and the U.S., where JBS has meat facilities, are well positioned to meet China’s […] Read more


CBOT March 2023 soybeans with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soy sags as Brazil’s harvest looms

Wheat mixed, corn ends firm

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell about one per cent on Wednesday as traders focused on the expanding harvest of a likely record-large soy crop in Brazil and positioned for the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates, analysts said. Wheat futures ended mixed, with the most-active March contract down on profit-taking, while […] Read more

CBOT March 2023 corn with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn, soybeans surge after USDA cuts 2022 harvest view

Brazil's CONAB projects big corn crop, record soy crop

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures rallied on Thursday after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) unexpectedly cut its 2022 harvest estimates for both crops, which would mean smaller-than-expected supplies. Wheat futures gained on spillover support from rising corn and soy. Traders largely shrugged off USDA’s larger-than-anticipated winter wheat crop acreage estimate […] Read more


ICE March 2023 canola with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola trade’s focus on South America

Canola still entrenched in $800-$900 range

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — ICE Futures canola contracts held relatively rangebound during the week ended Wednesday, looking for some direction to push values one way or the other. “We’re just watching South American weather now,” said Jaimie Wilton, commodities futures specialist with RJ O’Brien in Winnipeg, pointing to the drought in Argentina and the relatively favourable conditions […] Read more

(Medioimages/Photodisc/Getty Images)

CBOT weekly outlook: South America’s dry weather affecting soy complex

'We’re back to trading weather right now'

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s world agricultural supply and demand estimates (WASDE) report last week is taking a back seat to drought concerns in South America, according to a Chicago grains analyst. Terry Reilly from Futures International said Friday’s WASDE report had very little effect on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), which […] Read more


A Panama-flagged bulk carrier, Ikaria Angel, leaves Ukraine’s port of Chornomorsk with wheat for Ethiopia on Sept. 17, 2022. (File photo: Reuters/Serhii Smolientsev)

CBOT weekly outlook: Renewed agreement puts pressure on corn, wheat

Soy trade focused on Brazil's crop potential

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — A renewed agreement between Russia and Ukraine to allow the latter’s grain to be shipped out of the Black Sea has recently been putting pressure on corn and wheat prices at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). Russia and Ukraine, with mediation from the United Nations and Turkey, agreed Nov. 17 to an […] Read more

File photo of a soybean plantation in Brazil. (Mailson Pignata/iStock/Getty Images)

Cordonnier stands pat on South American crop projections

La Nina 'is still out there,' analyst says

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — At this point in the South American planting season it’s too early to get an accurate bead as to how much corn and soybeans will be grown in Brazil and Argentina, according to Dr. Michael Cordonnier of Soybean and Corn Advisor Inc. at Hinsdale, Ill. Cordonnier recently issued his latest estimates, keeping his […] Read more