Dec. 24 — The day before Christmas and all through the markets, not a trader was seen on the trading floor! Or so it seemed, as there was little to no trading happening today, as everyone was doing last-minute shopping or traveling.
Outside markets were steady to up today with gold and energy stocks closing higher.
Currencies closed down slightly today and grains drifted, showing either small losses or gains for the day.
Gold closed up $10.80 at $1,104.10 today, down $6.70 this past week.
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The U.S. dollar index ended down a 10th of a cent today — basically unchanged this week.
The Canadian dollar closed down 0.06 cents at US95.38 cents today, up 1.4 cents this week.
The Dow Jones closed up 62 points at 10,466 today, up 196 points this week.
In the energy sector, crude oil closed up $1.38 at US$78.05 per barrel, up $3.63 this week.
Corn closed up two to 3.6 cents a bushel today, up 10.8 cents a bushel this week.
Beans closed mixed, down 1.6 to up 2.6 cents a bushel today. January futures closed down 12.6 cents a bushel this week.
Wheat markets closed down 1.4-4.4 cents a bushel today. Minneapolis March futures closed down 2.6 cents a bushel today, down 3.8 cents a bushel this week.
Canola closed up $2.50-$3.30 per tonne today, down $6 per tonne this past week.
Western barley is unchanged, closing at $156 per tonne, down $4 this week.
The Canadian dollar started the day trading higher, which had canola futures trading lower. But as the day went on, the dollar fell off to end the day lower, which spurred a little buying and helped canola to finish slightly higher for the day.
It’s time to turn to thinking of family and friends and turkey dinner and watching White Christmas and The Muppet Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve after a candlelight service at church (a family tradition at our house).
So with that, I will wish you all a Merry Christmas from my family to yours.
That’s all for this week. Be back next Tuesday. — Brian
— Brian Wittal has spent over 27 years in the grain industry, including as an elevator manager and producer services representative for Alberta Wheat Pool, a regional sales manager for AgPro Grain and farm business representative for the Canadian Wheat Board, where he helped design some of the new pricing programs. He also operates his own company providing marketing and risk management advice for Prairie grain producers. Brian’s daily commentaries focus on how domestic and world market conditions affect you directly as grain producers.
Brian welcomes feedback and information on market conditions in your area, such as current offering prices, basis levels, trucking premiums and special crops contracts. Contact Brian today.
