Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybeans were steady to higher on Friday as investors looked past revised U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) supply-and-demand projections and focused on improved prospects for exports to China, which is due to sign an interim trade deal with the United States next week. The USDA data, released during […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn, soy shrug off benign USDA data
Ocean freight rates trending lower
MarketsFarm — The Baltic Dry Index has fallen sharply over the past four months, dropping below 1,000 points to start the New Year. A slowdown in iron-ore activity, as high prices have had Chinese mills buying up domestic inventories rather than importing from overseas, accounted for much of the general weakness in the freight sector, […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans bounce on China trade hopes
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures recovered slightly on Monday from steep declines in the previous session as hopes for improved exports to China outweighed worries about rising tensions in the Middle East. Corn and wheat futures declined on technical selling and profit-taking from last week’s multi-month highs and as investors look ahead to […] Read more
ICE weekly outlook: Canola could break out of range
MarketsFarm — With canola now near the top end of its range, prices could break out of being rangebound in the next several days, according to an analyst. Canola has made gains over the last month or so, largely due to spillover from increasing prices for soyoil on the Chicago Board of Trade. Soyoil has […] Read more
U.S. grains: Futures notch yearly rises on China demand hopes
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat, corn and soybean futures posted annual gains in 2019 after an initial U.S.-China trade deal that could boost agricultural exports helped prices rally toward the end of the year. The crop futures finished little changed on Tuesday as markets wound down during the last session of the year and […] Read more
Fictional nation Wakanda removed from USDA trade list
Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said it removed the fictional country of Wakanda from an online list of nations that have free trade agreements with the United States on Thursday. The Kingdom of Wakanda is the home of Black Panther, the Marvel superhero, and is portrayed in comic books and the 2018 […] Read more
Chinese officials, Trump agree to tariff rollbacks
Beijing/Washington | Reuters — The United States and China cooled their trade war on Friday, announcing a “phase one” agreement that reduces some U.S. tariffs in exchange for increased Chinese purchases of U.S. farm goods. Chinese officials offered no specific details on the amount of U.S. agricultural goods Beijing had agreed to buy, a key […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans slide, nearing support at US$9
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell to their lowest in almost two months on Thursday as uncertainty about progress in U.S.-China trade talks overshadowed support from stronger-than-expected weekly U.S. export sales, analysts said. Wheat futures also declined, backing down from a two-week high, but corn futures rose on signs of improving export and […] Read more
CN to cut management, union jobs
Reuters — Canadian National Railway said on Friday it would cut management and union jobs, as the largest Canadian railroad operator grapples with an economic slowdown. The company will lay off 1,600 employees in the U.S. and Canada, according to a report by the Globe and Mail. The announcement comes amid declining freight volumes as […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans up on increased optimism for trade deal
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures crawled higher on Friday on increased optimism that the U.S. and China may soon strike a deal to ease their trade war. Sentiments improved about the prospects for an agreement after White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Thursday evening that the two sides were “getting close” […] Read more
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