Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Fund traders were on both sides of the canola market during the first week of April, reducing their net short position slightly, according to the latest commitment of traders (CoT) report from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The net managed money short position in ICE Futures canola came in April 7 […] Read more
Funds still net-short on canola
U.S. grains: Soybeans fall further on coronavirus demand risks
Wheat slides as U.S. crop ratings hold steady
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean futures slid lower on Tuesday as fears of demand destruction for livestock feed due the closure of several U.S. meat packing plants hung over the market. Corn also inched lower, hovering near a 3-1/2-year low as it tracked crude oil markets. More than a third of the U.S. crop […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans drop as livestock markets drag soymeal lower
Wheat eases on global supply; corn unfazed by crude oil deal
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean futures fell more than one per cent on Monday in the market’s steepest drop in 1-1/2 weeks, as livestock processing plant closures that impact feed supply weighed on soymeal prices. Corn also sagged despite optimistic news that OPEC might curb oil production, after a deal was signed over the […] Read more
U.S. livestock: June hogs, cattle plunge limit down
COVID-19 shuts more U.S. meat processors
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. livestock futures tumbled on Monday on worries about declining U.S. meat processing capacity after Smithfield Foods announced Sunday it would indefinitely shut one of its pork plants due to novel coronavirus infections among workers. The closure at Sioux Falls, S.D., affecting four to five per cent of U.S. pork production, […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans, wheat climb on currency
Corn rises and falls with oil
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean and wheat futures on Thursday posted their biggest gains in two weeks, as a falling U.S. dollar made exports more attractive against South American and Black Sea grain producers. Corn futures climbed early on strong U.S. export sales and an early jump in crude oil prices, but settled only […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Futures slide as COVID-19 worries roil market
Concerns over meat processing pace drag on cattle, hogs
Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — U.S. livestock futures slumped again on Thursday, volatility roiling the market as it faced resistance over surging stocks and growing concerns that meat packers will close plants in the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Lean hog future prices slipped for a second session on concerns about the domestic glut of hog supplies and […] Read more
ICE weekly outlook: Canola market floating headline to headline
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — The ICE Futures canola market moved lower during the week ended Wednesday, but activity was choppy as futures reacted to broad swings in global financial markets. While the looming growing season should be starting to garner some attention, the COVID-19 pandemic “has grabbed all of the headlines and all of the oxygen out […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn slumps as ethanol production hits decade low
Improved U.S. wheat crop ratings raise expectations of bumper supplies
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago corn futures slumped on Wednesday, giving up part of the previous session’s gains, as the U.S. government reported the U.S. ethanol industry saw a near-decade low in weekly production amid massive stocks. Wheat futures followed in mid-day trading, as investors squared up their positions ahead of Thursday’s world agriculture supply […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Bargain-buying investors rally cattle futures, again
CME June lean hogs down on day
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle futures surged for a second straight session on Wednesday, as investors kept snapping up deep discounts in futures prices, traders said. Lean hog future prices slipped, as concern continued to mount over a glut of domestic pork supplies and uncertainty on how quickly the U.S. sow herd is shrinking. […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn rally sputters, wheat slides on growing conditions
Soybeans up, eyes on South American crop
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — A rally in Chicago corn futures on Tuesday that was buoyed by a run-up in the energy market sputtered by day’s end as crude oil prices slipped. May corn futures climbed nearly two per cent in mid-day trading, but cut gains in half as crude oil prices closed down for a […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
