Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures firmed for the third time in four sessions on Thursday, supported by a better-than-expected export report and hopes for a trade deal with China, traders said. Corn futures also closed in positive territory, with more rain in the U.S. Midwest sparking fresh concerns about planting delays in key […] Read more
U.S. grains: Trade hopes spur gains in soy futures
U.S. livestock: Hog futures extend rally as African swine fever spreads
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures rose on Thursday for the third day in a row, supported by expectations that the spread of deadly African swine fever in China would boost demand from the world’s top pork buyer. The most-active June hogs contract closed up three cents, the daily trading limit. […] Read more
ICE weekly outlook: Canola bearish with or without China
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — ICE Futures canola contracts saw a modest correction off of major support over the week ended Wednesday, but the longer-term trend remains pointed lower with large old-crop supplies and uncertain export prospects overhanging the market. Canadian canola exports to China are effectively non-existent right now, with the absence of that major customer casting […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME hogs rally on hopes for increased exports to China
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures charged higher on Wednesday, with the May contract surging 5.4 per cent, on hopes for a trade deal with China that would boost exports to the world’s largest consumer of pork. “U.S.-China trade talks restart in D.C. today and most accounts have those negotiations going […] Read more
CBOT weekly outlook: Weather, flooding are main focus
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — This spring’s weather and flooding in the United States have become the main focus for traders at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), said an analyst. “What kind of planting conditions, how much rain, how much flooding, and how cold things are,” listed Steve Georgy, president of Allendale Inc. at McHenry, Ill. The […] Read more
China has not escalated canola seed dispute with Canada, Ottawa says
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ottawa | Reuters — China has not escalated a dispute with Canada over the export of canola seeds and comments by the Canadian farm minister on the matter have been misunderstood, an agriculture ministry official said on Wednesday. China — embroiled in a major diplomatic dispute with Ottawa — has blocked imports from two major […] Read more
U.S. livestock: June hogs limit up on swine fever concerns
Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) lean hog futures rallied on Tuesday, with some contracts closing up their daily trading limit, as expectations for a bump in export deals to China, traders said. The gains were ignited by the announcement on Monday by China’s agriculture ministry that African swine fever has been found […] Read more
Third canola exporter runs into trouble in China
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters –– Chinese authorities have filed a quality complaint against a third Canadian exporter of canola, Canada’s agriculture minister said on Tuesday, potentially deepening a trade and diplomatic dispute between Beijing and Ottawa. Early last month, China cited the discovery of pests as the reason for blocking shipments of canola seed from Richardson […] Read more
Canada to set up working group for China canola push
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canola industry stakeholders and provincial officials are to join federal officials in a co-ordinated push to resolve China’s issues with Canadian canola, cabinet ministers said Monday. Speaking Monday in Ottawa, Canada’s Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and International Trade Diversification Minister Jim Carr said they’ve set up a new working group including representatives from the Canola […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hog futures mixed, cattle futures firm
Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) lean hog futures were mixed on Monday, with the front-month contract firming slightly after two straight days of declines while deferreds continued to ease. Traders said that fresh pork exports to China were required to ease the burdensome supplies and boost hog futures higher. “Even though we […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
