Markets
Some currency experts believe the loonie will drop significantly this year, helping buffer Canadian farmers against lacklustre commodity prices. Ken Courtis, chair of Starfort Investment Holdings and a member of federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s Advisory Council on Economic Growth, said U.S. President Donald Trump’s economic stimulus program will strengthen the U.S. dollar and drive […] Read more
Markets
Canola finishes week strong with May at $500 a tonne
May canola settled right at the $500 a tonne mark on Thursday, garnering support from rising soybeans, a weaker loonie and a rolling of short positions into the July contract. Tightening canola old crop supplies should keep a floor under canola prices. The May contract closed at $500, up $10.90 from the close the previous […] Read more
Canola oil may head south for biodiesel
A potential change in the U.S. biodiesel tax credit could create a new market for Canadian canola oil, say analysts. The U.S. biodiesel industry has lobbied Congress for years to change the $1 per gallon tax incentive to a producer’s credit from a blender’s credit. “What that would do is that would incentivize U.S. production,” […] Read more
Canadian pork sector benefits from going ractopamine free
Canada is winning market share in China because U.S. packers and feed mills won’t remove ractopamine from feed, says American economist
Canadian pork will keep going through the front door to China while U.S. pork sneaks through back doors left open by Canada and the European Union, says a leading American hog market analyst. American reluctance to eliminate ractopamine from hog diets and American sabre-rattling over China trade policy mean Canada will probably continue to be […] Read moreShipping costs recovering but are still considered cheap
Remember the Baltic Dry Index? A dozen years ago it seemed every market analyst presentation had a slide or two showing how the BDI was soaring. The BDI and related indexes show the relative cost of ocean freight on various size ships. In the early 2000s, the BDI became a stand-in for the pace of […] Read more
Russia poses threat to Canadian exports
A massive new trade deal be-tween Russian and Chinese companies poses a serious threat to Canada’s canola and flax exports, say analysts. Russia’s Export Food Trade company and China’s Sino-Europe Agricultural Development Centre signed a long-term contract March 29 to supply Russian crops to China. Newspapers report that the deal covers soybeans, barley, rapeseed, flax […] Read more
WP livestock report
Hogs lower again U.S. cash hog markets struggled again with ample supply and rising carcass weighs as weather warmed, allowing faster growth. The U.S. national live price average for barrows and gilts was US47.25 per cwt. April 7, down from $50.25 March 31. U.S. hogs averaged $58.17 on a carcass basis April 7, down from […] Read more
Canfax report
This cattle market information is selected from the weekly report from Canfax, a division of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. More market information, analysis and statistics are available by becoming a Canfax subscriber by calling 403-275-5110 or at www.canfax.ca. Fed market lower The Canfax weighted average steer price was $170.89, down $3.51, and heifers were $167.89, […] Read more
Cattle extend gains on fund buying; hogs ease on pork losses
CHICAGO, April 12 (Reuters) – U.S. cattle futures extended gains on Wednesday, with most live and feeder cattle contracts hitting lifetime highs on investment fund buying as wholesale beef prices also climbed, traders said. The higher cattle prices came despite expectations for weaker trades this week in U.S. Plains cash cattle markets as some beef […] Read more
VIDEO: Canada’s agricultural markets update – April 12, 2017
D’Arce McMillan, The Western Producer markets editor, monitors trends in the North American and global agricultural markets. Each week he hosts a market video about crops. The video is designed to help viewers understand the forces responsible for changes in the trade. If agricultural markets are important to you, we have you covered.
