Chicago | Reuters –– The U.S. Coast Guard temporarily halted shipping traffic on the Mississippi River in New Orleans on Friday after a tow boat struck stationary barges in a fleeting area, marking at least the fifth barge accident this week on the flood-swollen river. High water has severely restricted barge shipping traffic on the […] Read more
Barge accidents rise on flood-swollen Mississippi River
U.S. grains: Wheat surges as USDA cuts acreage view
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain prices rallied on Tuesday after the U.S. Department of Agriculture slashed its estimate of winter wheat seedings by more than anticipated and unexpectedly cut its corn and soybean production view. Wheat futures surged nearly three per cent to a three-week high on fund short covering while corn and soybeans […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat falls from three-week high
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures dropped two per cent on Monday on technical selling and profit-taking after touching three-week highs last week, while traders eyed an eagerly awaited series of government reports on crops due on Tuesday. Corn and soybeans also fell, with declines in broader commodities markets amid fresh investor concerns about […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat surges on short covering
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain and soybean futures firmed on Friday on technical buying and short-covering as investors squared positions before a key government crop report due to be released on Tuesday. Stabilizing global equities markets following steep losses to start the year offered underlying support to grains. Wheat futures notched the strongest gains […] Read more
Cargill’s Q2 profit drops amid commodities slump
Chicago | Reuters –– Slumping commodities prices and weak demand in some markets took their toll on profits for global commodities trader Cargill in the quarter ending Nov. 30, sending earnings and revenue down 13 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively. Privately held Cargill, celebrating its 150th birthday this year, is in the midst […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn, soy, wheat rise in short-covering bounce
Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. grain and soybean futures rebounded from early-session losses on Wednesday in a technical short-covering bounce as investors squared positions ahead of a U.S. Department of Agriculture crop report due early next week. Corn and wheat futures posted fresh contract lows in nearly all months and soybeans hit a 6-1/2-week low […] Read more
U.S. grain shippers await El Nino dryness after unseasonable flood
Chicago | Reuters –– The clear Midwestern skies that El Nino cycles typically bring could be a boon to the U.S. heartland this spring, after recent record rain levels soaked the region, swamping farmland and disrupting grain export shipments on swollen rivers. Farm fields across the Midwest are saturated, according to the U.S. Department of […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans rally on Brazil dryness, short-covering
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures climbed to a near two-week high on Friday on technical buying and short-covering as well as concerns that dry weather in parts of Brazil may drag down yields in the world’s top exporter of the oilseed. Wheat and corn pared steep early gains and closed modestly higher. Both […] Read more
U.S. grains: Brazil dryness sparks soy short-covering
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures rebounded from a 3-1/2-week low on Thursday and closed higher for the first time in three sessions on short-covering sparked by concerns that dry weather in Brazil may clip soy production. Corn and wheat also clawed back earlier losses tied to Argentina’s export-friendly move to let the peso […] Read more
Monsanto-backed panel says glyphosate not carcinogenic
Reuters — A panel of scientists is disputing a World Health Organization report published earlier this year that concluded glyphosate, the world’s most widely used weed killer and main ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, is probably carcinogenic to humans. The 16-member panel, assembled by Intertek Scientific and Regulatory Consultancy, was to present its findings to […] Read more