Brian Wittal

Oct. 6 — Financial and energy markets took off out of the blocks like a sprinter this morning following positive overnight trading, but soon ran out of gas and faded back a bit as the day came to a close — sort of like the sprinter who forgot he was supposed to be running a […] Read more

Oct. 5 — It was a day of choppy, two-sided trading as financial and energy markets started the day in a downward fashion but as the day went on they were able to rebound and close with small gains. Grains followed pretty much the same pattern, with the exception of beans, which still ended up […] Read more

Oct. 2 — Energy and financial markets ended the day, and the week, in a negative mood. The U.S. dollar fell a 10th of a cent today and conversely the Canadian dollar rose 0.11 cents today, closing at US92.35 cents, up three-quarters of a cent over last week. The Dow Jones December quote finished down […] Read more

Oct. 1 — Outside markets were mixed today. Financials continued to slide as reports out of the U.S. and Canada confirm it’s going to take longer than first anticipated to get out of this recessional slump. This prompted reinvestment into the U.S. dollar, which rose half a cent today/ Conversely the Canadian dollar fell 1.4 […] Read more

Sept. 30 — Outside markets were mixed today as financials slid back on a quiet day with limited activity, while crude oil took a big jump upward. Currencies continued to bounce hard today as the U.S. dollar closed down just over four-10ths of a cent, and the Canadian dollar closed up 1.37 cents today at […] Read more

Sept. 28 –– A late and short report today, as I’m traveling the next couple of days and won’t be able to post reports until the evenings. Financial markets showed some life again today which helped to push grains to a positive opening. Corn and wheat were able to hold onto small gains for the […] Read more

Sept. 25 –– Outside markets continued to slide heading into the weekend as trade was limited. Some may be waiting to see what, if anything, comes out of the G-20 meetings in Pittsburgh that may help direct markets going forward. Energy stocks were mixed, with crude down slightly and natural gas up slightly on the […] Read more

Sept. 24 — Outside markets took a turn for the worse today with double- and triple-digit losses in some of the financial indexes. Energy stocks were also down hard again today and currencies continued the roller-coaster ride with the U.S. dollar up almost nine-10ths of a cent and the December Canadian dollar down 1.27 cents […] Read more

Sept. 23 — Outside markets were mixed with limited trading throughout the day, which seemed to filter over into the grains, which started off with losses. As the day went on, though, corn and wheat were able to reverse that momentum and finish with small gains; beans were able to recover from double-digit losses to […] Read more

Sept. 22 — Outside markets were mildly supportive today, which helped grains try to regain some of yesterday’s losses. Concerns of frost in the U.S. over the next week lent some support to prices as well today, as crops are still far enough behind that a frost would certainly affect yield and quality. Slow exports […] Read more