MarketsFarm — Despite a number of tough challenges in 2019, one broker at the Chicago Board of Trade said the year ended on a high note. “For what we went through with China this whole year, this trade war, you had corn, wheat and soybeans close higher for the year on Dec. 31,” said Scott […] Read more

CBOT weekly outlook: 2019 ends on high note

White House to stick with 2020 biofuel plan, despite farmer objections
New York | Reuters — The Trump administration plans to stick with its proposed 2020 biofuel blending requirements, the White House said on Wednesday, despite anger among farmers that the plan does too little for corn growers. The decision could undermine President Donald Trump’s support among farmers, an important constituency in the November 2020 election. […] Read more

Grains, oilseeds not included in Greens’ plans for biofuel
The federal Green Party’s plan to move Canada to zero emissions by 2050 supports the near-term use of plant-based biofuels — “but not from food that could otherwise feed Canadians.” Ahead of Monday’s federal election, the party released a climate action plan dubbed “Mission: Possible” that would ban the use of internal combustion engines in […] Read more

Trump administration proposes plan to raise biofuels use, EPA says
New York | Reuters — The Trump administration, in an effort to mend fences with the powerful U.S. corn lobby, proposed a new formula on Tuesday to boost biofuels demand — but the proposal instead only provoked more consternation from the industry. Corn and soybean farmers have been angered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s […] Read more

Trump’s EPA promises biofuel boost, angers Big Oil
Washington/New York | Reuters — The Trump administration on Friday unveiled a plan to boost U.S. biofuels consumption starting next year to help struggling farmers, a move that cheered the agriculture industry but triggered a backlash from Big Oil. The plan would require an unspecified increase in the amount of ethanol that oil refiners must […] Read more

U.S. grains: Corn falls; wheat, soy rise
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures dropped on Friday while soybeans and wheat edged higher in muted trading as investors waited for the U.S. government’s monthly update to harvest projections. Corn futures remained under pressure from profit-taking after prices jumped to a seven-week high on Tuesday. The market shrugged off long-awaited news that the […] Read more

CBOT weekly outlook: U.S. dollar, weather hurt prices
MarketsFarm — Growing strength in the U.S. dollar has hurt commodity prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), according to Terry Reilly, grains analyst for Futures International in Chicago. The impetus for the gain was comments from U.S. President Donald Trump, who remarked a trade deal with China could come sooner rather than later. […] Read more

Trump backs plan boosting biofuel quotas 10 per cent in 2020
New York | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump has tentatively approved a plan to increase the amount of biofuels that oil refiners are required to blend each year to compensate for exemptions handed out to small refiners by the Environmental Protection Agency, two sources familiar with the matter said. The plan is intended to […] Read more

Brazil expected to introduce tariff-free wheat import quota from 2020
Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazil is expected to introduce a tariff-free wheat import quota of 750,000 tonnes per year starting from 2020, the president of the country’s wheat industry group Abitrigo, Rubens Barbosa, said on Tuesday. Brazil announced the opening of the tariff-free wheat import quota earlier this year in connection with President Jair […] Read more

U.S. grains: Corn, soy set one-week highs on weather concerns
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures touched one-week highs on Thursday as traders worried about the risk of frost damage to this year’s late planted U.S. crops, analysts said. Traders were also covering short positions after recent declines and ahead of the three-day Labour Day weekend. They remain nervous about the potential […] Read more