Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures advanced on Wednesday for a fourth straight session as a pickup in export activity and firm cash markets spurred commodity fund buying, traders said. Corn was little changed and soybeans eased as traders waited to see if U.S.-China trade talks would show the two sides moving to end […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat up, soy eases as China trade talks eyed
CBOT weekly outlook: All eyes on March 1 trade deadline
Reading Time: 2 minutes As high-level trade talks are underway in Beijing this week between the U.S. and China, commodity markets are watching carefully, said an analyst following the Chicago Board of Trade. “All eyes are on March 1,” said Steve Georgy of Allendale Inc. Should negotiators fail to make any progress toward resolving the U.S./China trade war, the […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hog futures jump on U.S.-China trade hopes
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures jumped more than two per cent on Tuesday in a second straight day of strong gains fueled by hopes that U.S.-China trade talks would revive Chinese demand for American pork, traders and analysts said. Bargain buying further propelled gains after benchmark April futures dropped for four straight […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hogs fall on technical selling, live cattle up
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures declined more than one per cent on Tuesday, giving back a portion of gains notched on Monday in a technical setback, traders said. Hogs on Monday surged from a multimonth low, boosted in part by technically oversold conditions. But the market remained anchored by abundant […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Chickpea area to drop back to ‘normal’
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadian chickpea acres are expected to return to more normal levels in 2019, after a sizeable jump in 2018. However, while prices are off the highs that drove 2018 seeding intentions, they still could have some room to the upside over the next few months. After seeding 442,900 acres of chickpeas in 2018, Canadian farmers […] Read more
EU seeks to soothe U.S. by clearing soybeans for biofuel
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — The European Commission said on Tuesday it had concluded that U.S. soybeans can be used in biofuels in the European Union, part of the bloc’s push to improve strained trade relations with the United States. However, industry sources said it was unlikely to lead to a flood of additional U.S. soybean imports into […] Read more
USDA extends deadline for aid after shutdown
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — U.S. farmers now have until Feb. 14 to apply for federal aid designed to offset the impact of retaliatory Chinese tariffs on American crops, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Monday, after delays caused by the month-long government shutdown. The previous deadline for the aid program, officially known as the […] Read more
USDA to reopen all farm agency offices
Reading Time: < 1 minute Washington | Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday it will reopen all Farm Service Agency offices on Thursday to offer services to farmers and ranchers during the partial government shutdown. Some Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices had been providing limited services since Jan. 17, but the move means all of the agency’s […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hogs rise on hopes for China trade talks
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Hopes for progress in talks to resolve the U.S.-China trade war lifted Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures on Friday, traders said. Wall Street and commodities advanced after Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that China offered to go on a six-year buying spree to ramp up imports from […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans sink on concerns about China trade talks
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell for the third time in four sessions on Tuesday on worries that the United States and China remain far apart in resolving a bitter trade fight that has slashed U.S. soy imports by the world’s top buyer. Corn and wheat followed soybeans lower, with technical selling accelerating […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
