Reading Time: 6 minutes For the first instalment in our five-part series this fall and winter, we sat down with Calgary-based grain market adviser and regular Country Guide contributor Errol Anderson for his insights into what to look for in markets this year. The billion-dollar question, Anderson says, is what will happen in China. Other issues are important too, […] Read more

The China (economic) factor and Canadian agriculture
Does China’s economic slowdown have to be bad news for Canada’s farmers? We ask Errol Anderson, does he see hope in the year ahead?

Diesel prices seen softening soon
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Canadian diesel prices should go down between now and the end of the summer, according to a fuel expert. Since early May, the price of diesel across the Prairies has largely been in and around the 94-98 cents per litre range. Tom Kloza of the Oil Price Information Service reported prices on […] Read more
Diesel prices seen staying low until July
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada –– The price of diesel has fallen to the same level as gasoline across Western Canada, but a Chicago-based analyst doesn’t expect it to stay that way for too long. “Probably after the Fourth of July, late July and August the prices may start to edge up,” said Phil Flynn, energy market analyst […] Read more

Cost index trimmed for railways’ grain revenue cap
Reading Time: 2 minutes A sharper-than-expected drop in fuel costs has led federal regulators to dial back the index that decides how much money railways get to keep from hauling Prairie grain. The Canadian Transportation Agency on announced Thursday it will cut its volume-related composite price index (VRCPI) by 5.6 per cent, to 1.2517, for the 2015-16 crop year. […] Read more

Diesel prices expected to see pressure in second quarter
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — The spring thaw may bring lower diesel prices to farmers in North America, according to a New Jersey-based oil expert. “A lot of new refining, worldwide, is coming on for diesel,” said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service. Compared to other fuels such as gasoline or jet […] Read more

Drozd: Crude falls to four-year low, casts shadow across commodities
Reading Time: 3 minutes At the time of this writing, crude oil has plunged $40 per barrel, losing 37 per cent of its value, since prices turned down from $107.73 in June 2014. This market’s steady decline may have come as a surprise to some followers of oil, but for those who study charting and technical analysis, they were […] Read more