Chicago | Reuters — Illinois farmer Brent Johnson had planned to bump up his corn acreage by 10 per cent in 2019 and plant fewer soybeans as a way to shelter himself from the lower soy prices caused by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff war with China. But some early winter storms caused him to […] Read more

Early winter weather puts U.S. safe-haven corn planting in doubt

Canola funds reduce net short position
CNS Canada — Fund traders lowered their net short positions in ICE Futures canola during the week ended Tuesday, according to the latest commitment of traders (CoT) report compiled by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). According to the latest report, managed money and other reportable speculators decreased their net short position in canola […] Read more

U.S. grains: Soybeans sag as China sale fails to impress
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell to a one-week low on Thursday as confirmation of a 1.13 million-tonne U.S. soybean sale to China failed to impress traders who are shifting their focus to burdensome U.S. and global supplies, analysts said. Wheat futures rose, almost hitting a two-month top, supported by signs of rising […] Read more

U.S. confirms China soybean purchase, but no clarity over more sales
Chicago/Washington | Reuters — U.S. government officials on Thursday hailed China’s first meager purchase of U.S. soybeans since its trade war with the United States began in July and said they hoped for, but could not guarantee, more to come. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced private sales of 1.13 million tonnes of U.S. […] Read more

ICE weekly outlook: Cheaper canola could stir up export interest
CNS Canada — The ICE Futures canola market has seen contracts become cheaper of late, which could lead to an increase in demand — but the market is also still closely following the ongoing saga between China and the U.S. “Everybody’s just waiting for some kind of news regarding China possibly purchasing U.S. beans. They […] Read more

U.S. grains: Soybeans rise as China buys U.S. supplies
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures hit a 4-1/2-month high on Wednesday as China bought U.S. soybeans for the first time since U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping met in early December. State-owned Chinese companies bought at least 500,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans, two U.S. traders said, in deals valued […] Read more

U.S. grains: Soy climbs on hopes for China buying
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures closed higher on Tuesday as traders anticipated potential Chinese purchases of U.S. agricultural products, and shrugged off a bearish monthly global soy inventories report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Corn firmed, led by soybeans, but wheat futures fell after USDA raised its forecasts of U.S. and global […] Read more

U.S. grains: Soybeans firm on China trade hopes
Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. soybean futures firmed for the fifth time in six sessions on Friday on solid weekly export sales data and short-covering ahead of the weekend as the market waited for signs that China may soon resume purchases from the United States. Corn also advanced and wheat climbed to a 5-1/2 week […] Read more

Trade, weather top of mind for 2019 acres
CNS Canada — As Canadian farmers start thinking about what to plant next spring, global trade patterns and weather will play into decision making. “It’s very difficult to decide where this all is going. That obviously also has implications on where the futures prices go and what signals the farmers are taking from that,” said […] Read more

U.S. grains: Soybeans edge upward, still await promised Chinese buying
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures edged higher on Tuesday on hopes that a U.S.-China trade war truce over the weekend would result in fresh Chinese demand for U.S. soybeans, although no deals have been confirmed. Corn also firmed slightly, following soybeans, while wheat ended mixed on light demand. At Saturday’s G-20 meeting in […] Read more