Reading Time: 4 minutes Colfax, N.D. | Reuters — North Dakota bet bigger on Chinese soybean demand than any other U.S. state. The industry here — on the far northwestern edge of the U.S. farm belt, close to Pacific ports — spent millions on grain storage and rail-loading infrastructure while boosting plantings by five-fold in 20 years. Now, as […] Read more
On the front lines: Trade war sinks North Dakota soy growers
U.S. grains: Corn edges higher on cool weather
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures inched higher on Thursday, stabilizing from three-month lows set a day earlier, supported by worries that cool weather could slow the maturity of the delayed U.S. crop, analysts said. Wheat rose on technical buying and better-than-expected weekly U.S. export sales. But soybean futures declined, retreating from early strength […] Read more
Shut out of China, Canada finds canola buyers in drought-damaged Europe
Reading Time: 3 minutes Winnipeg/Paris | Reuters — Crop-scorching drought in Europe is providing Canadian canola farmers a timely new opportunity to move supplies that have piled up since China stopped buying this year. Rising European sales are taking some of the sting out of losing the Chinese market for Canadian farmers, although ICE canola futures prices are down […] Read more
China buys U.S. soybeans after declaring ban on U.S. farm goods
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — China snapped up a small volume of U.S. soybeans last week after pledging to halt purchases of U.S. farm products due to the escalating trade war between Washington and Beijing, U.S. Department of Agriculture data showed on Thursday. The world’s largest soybean importer struck deals from Aug. 9 to 15 to […] Read more
CBOT weekly outlook: U.S. grain traders watch yields, demand
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Soybean and corn prices on the Chicago Board of Trade remain at the behest of geopolitical pressures and questionable crop yields. Terry Reilly, a grains analyst with Futures International in Chicago, said traders are keeping a close eye on the U.S. Pro Farmer tour throughout the eastern Corn Belt region. The tour has […] Read more
Bunge CEO looks to avoid ‘stroke-of-the-pen’ risk in ongoing trade war
Reading Time: 3 minutes Chicago | Reuters — A year removed from a losing bet that the U.S.-China trade war would be promptly resolved, global grains trader Bunge is facing an even more uncertain business environment, with a new CEO determined not to get burned again. Gregory Heckman, who joined Bunge’s board late last year and took on the […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn, soybeans slide on beneficial weekend rains
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures fell 1.6 per cent on Monday and soybean futures also declined after much-needed rains crossed dry areas of the Corn Belt over the weekend, bolstering crop production prospects, analysts said. Wheat followed the softer trend. Chicago Board of Trade December corn settled down 6-1/4 cents at $3.74-1/2 per […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME hogs limit down on demand concerns
Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — CME lean hog futures fell sharply on Friday, with the most-active October contract notching a limit-down move as traders worried that seasonal growth in supplies will outstrip demand. Weakness in the cash market also spilled over into the futures, traders said. The demand concerns stemmed from uncertainty about potential purchases from […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn, soy, wheat rise but post big weekly losses
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn, soybean and wheat futures rose on Friday on a technical rebound as traders evened up positions after the grains market posted sharp declines during the week. The heavy weekly losses — corn posted its biggest weekly drop in percentage terms since June 2016 — stemmed from a surprise boost […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hog futures sink to five-month low
Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) hog futures fell to a five-month low on Thursday, pressured by big supplies that overwhelmed any optimism about news that China made its biggest purchases of U.S. pork in seven weeks, traders said. The world’s largest pork consumer bought 10,211 tonnes of U.S. pork between Aug. 2-8 […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
