Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean and corn futures slid on Monday as rising tensions between Washington and Beijing raised concern about further demand risk, on top of coronavirus disruptions to biofuel and livestock feed markets. Favourable crop weather also weighed on prices as planting advanced in the U.S. Midwest while rain across Europe looks […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans tumble as China spat piles on demand worries
Grain markets hit by drop in demand for feed, biofuel
U.S. livestock: Cattle, hog futures inch up as plants reopen
Rising wholesale prices support futures
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog and live cattle futures closed higher on Monday, as meat processing facilities began to open after closures of more than 20 plants due to coronavirus illnesses among workers. Rising pork and beef cutout prices have also helped give futures a boost on Monday, said Mark Schultz, chief analyst […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans slide on renewed trade tensions with China
Corn, wheat also fall on heightened trade tensions
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures declined on Friday as renewed concern about trade tensions between the United States and China overshadowed fresh export sales to the world’s largest soybean consumer. Corn and wheat futures also fell on uncertain feed demand and good weather across much of the U.S. Midwest that signaled another strong […] Read more
Grains, oilseeds, pulses hold their own amid pandemic
Reading Time: 3 minutes MarketsFarm — Prices for grains, oilseeds and pulses are not as bad off as livestock values are due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Neil Townsend, chief market analyst for FarmLink Solutions in Winnipeg. FarmLink hosted a webinar Wednesday to provide its outlook for the coming crop year. One thing Townsend stressed was there is […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hogs climb on strong pork exports, wholesale prices
Packer margins, wholesale beef prices support live cattle futures
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures rose on Thursday as bullish weekly U.S. pork export data and rising wholesale prices overshadowed worries about a slowdown in the U.S. hog slaughter pace backing up hog supplies, traders said. “You’ve got a combination of export sales being strong (and) the wholesale market trading very firm […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans up on export demand, month-end position-squaring
Strong weekly U.S. export sales data also supports corn, wheat
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures rose more than two per cent on Thursday, the biggest single-day advance in a month, on strong weekly export sales and news of fresh demand from top global soy buyer China, analysts said. Corn futures firmed for a second day on strong export sales and signs the worst […] Read more
CBOT weekly outlook: Prices soft on lack of demand
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Technical buying was a supportive factor on the Chicago Board of Trade in late April, but commodity futures were broadly lower due to a lack of export activity. However, China reportedly remains committed to fulfilling its end of its Phase One trade agreement with the United States. Although soybean futures have been near […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn, soybean futures down off gains
Chicago wheat also weak
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures fell on Friday after three straight days of gains as investors took some risk out of the market due to demand uncertainty stemming from the global coronavirus pandemic, traders said. Wheat futures also were lower, with forecasts for some rain in key production areas of Europe […] Read more
U.S. grains: Export hopes push soy, corn, wheat futures higher
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean, corn and wheat futures rose on Thursday as recent declines spurred demand for imports of all three commodities, traders said. Bargain-buying and short-covering contributed to the bullish tone following a sharp sell-off across the commodities market as the coronavirus pandemic roiled demand. “None of the major commodities have a […] Read more
Burnett on Markets: Global grain stocks offer false sense of food security
In event of production shortfall, 60 per cent of available stocks would never be available to market
Reading Time: 2 minutes The economic parallels from the COVID-19 epidemic are quickly changing from comparisons to the recent financial crisis in 2008-09 to the Great Depression. My parents and grandparents lived through the Depression and it did have many impacts on their everyday lives. The main symbol of the Depression-era mentality was the two enormous chest freezers in […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
