Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell for a second day on Wednesday, shedding more than one per cent on expectations of a bumper U.S. crop and concerns about a protracted U.S.-China trade war that has already depressed demand for U.S. shipments. Corn and wheat also eased as traders squared positions ahead of a […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans slump on big harvest, trade war worries
Trump raises ethanol use in gasoline, appeases farmers ahead of elections
Reading Time: 3 minutes Washington | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump launched an effort on Tuesday to increase ethanol use in the nation’s gasoline pool, delivering a long-sought political victory to the nation’s Farm Belt and angering oil refiners ahead of November’s congressional elections. Trump announced the lifting of a ban on summer sales of gasoline blended with […] Read more
U.S. seen likely to win in effort to shut down WTO’s appeals court
Reading Time: 2 minutes Geneva | Reuters — The United States is likely to succeed in shutting down the World Trade Organization’s supreme court because other WTO members are powerless to stop it, diplomats, lawyers and officials said at a conference in Geneva on Friday. The United States has blocked appointments of judges to the Appellate Body, throwing the […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Lean hogs extend recovery, near six-month high
Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures climbed to their highest prices in about six months on Friday on technical buying. CME October hogs reached a session high of 68.825 cents/lb., the contract’s highest price since April 19, before paring gains (all figures US$). It ended up 0.7 cent/lb., at 68.2 cents. […] Read more
Hog producers continue struggle toward profitability
Reading Time: 4 minutes CNS Canada — Hog prices might have regained some value in recent days, but many producers are still a long way from profitability, according to the chair of Manitoba Pork. That’s why lenders such as Farm Credit Canada, who show they understand the needs of producers who are dependent on commodity markets, are appreciated, said […] Read more
Trade pact clause seen deterring China trade deals with Canada, Mexico
Reading Time: 3 minutes Washington | Reuters — China’s hopes of negotiating a free trade pact with Canada or Mexico were dealt a sharp setback by a provision deep in the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement that aims to forbid such deals with “non-market” countries, trade experts said on Tuesday. The provision specifies that if one of the current North […] Read more
Trudeau takes Quebec dairy gamble to preserve big trade deal
Reading Time: 3 minutes Ottawa/Montreal | Reuters — With his political future at stake, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will mount a charm offensive to placate dairy farmers who say he sold them out in order to win approval of a continental trade deal. Compounding Trudeau’s challenges in the influential province of Quebec, where many dairy farmers are based, […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: India extends pea, lentil tariffs
Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — The Indian government has again extended its import restrictions on peas, this time until Dec. 31. India late last year initiated duties of 50 per cent on imported peas and 30 per cent on lentils and desi chickpeas. It has since raised the lentil tariff to 60 per cent. In effect, the […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn, soy surge as NAFTA revamp outweighs big supplies
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures rallied on Monday, reversing the prior session’s steep losses, after the U.S., Canada and Mexico announced they had reached a deal on a trilateral pact to replace NAFTA. Corn gained nearly three per cent and soybeans more than one per cent as news of the trade […] Read more
Canada, U.S. deal saves NAFTA as trilateral pact
Reading Time: 3 minutes Ottawa/Washington | Reuters — The U.S. and Canada forged a last-gasp deal on Sunday to salvage NAFTA as a trilateral pact with Mexico, rescuing a three-country, US$1.2 trillion open-trade zone that had been about to collapse after nearly a quarter century. In a big victory for his agenda to shake up an era of global […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
