As we start the new year amid elevated inflation and major headwinds facing the economy, here are our top charts to help make sense of the economic environment for farm operations, agribusinesses and food processors.
Tag Archives interest rates
FCC’s top economic charts to monitor in 2024
Downward trends for cattle, swine herds; positive bent to feed, fertilizer affordability
Canada’s jobs growth stalls in December as wages accelerate
Declines in goods sector driven by job losses in manufacturing, construction and agriculture
Canada's economy added far fewer jobs than expected in December and the jobless rate remained at 5.8 per cent, but permanent employees' wages increased at the fastest pace in three years, data showed on Friday.
Commodity prices to remain high in 2024, drop in 2025 – HSBC
Most agricultural products expected to outperform energy, industrial metals amid supply constraints, dry weather
Squeezed supply, improved Chinese demand and the global energy transition will keep commodity prices elevated in 2024, before falling the following year, forecasted British banking group HSBC today.
U.S. grains: Soybeans set 6-1/2-week high
Weaker U.S. dollar lifts grains complex
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures touched a 6-1/2-week high on Friday, lifted by uneven crop weather in top soy producer Brazil and fresh export demand for U.S. supplies, coupled with a plunge in the dollar that bolstered corn and wheat futures as well. Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) January soybean futures settled up […] Read more
CBOT weekly outlook: Demand, not interest rates, affecting markets
U.S. Fed decision 'pretty much factored in'
MarketsFarm — While key interest rates in the United States will stay put for the time being, corn and wheat prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) declined steadily during the week ended Wednesday. The U.S. Federal Reserve announced earlier Wednesday that the central bank’s policy rate will remain within 5.25 and 5.5 per […] Read more
ICE weekly outlook: Canola pulling lower
Futures subject to 'financial gravity'
MarketsFarm — Canola futures on the Intercontinental Exchange kicked off the week of Oct. 23-27 with sharp losses, as the most heavily traded January contract busted through its support level of $700 per tonne. Among the reasons for canola’s steep fall, as David Derwin pointed out, were the better than average yields from this year’s […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME hog futures hit contract lows
Cattle futures also sag
Chicago | Reuters — Lean hog futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange fell to life-of-contract lows on Friday and cattle futures also retreated, pressured by technical selling and worries that a slowing global economy could hurt demand for meat, traders said. Hog futures fell the most, with the benchmark December contract settling down two cents, […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans end up in bounce from one-month low
Chicago wheat, corn futures firm
Reuters — U.S. soybean futures rose on Friday in a light technical rebound from six-week lows while corn and wheat also ticked higher on bargain-buying, but gains in all three markets were limited by a strong U.S. dollar, analysts said. Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) November soybeans settled up 2-1/2 cents at $12.96-1/4, bouncing after […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans fall to one-month low on export woes
CBOT corn, wheat end down
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. benchmark soybean futures fell below US$13 a bushel on Thursday for the first time in a month while corn and wheat futures held near multi-year lows on downbeat weekly export sales, an expanding U.S. harvest and economic worries, analysts said. Chicago Board of Trade November soybeans settled down 26-1/4 cents […] Read more
ICE weekly outlook: Which way will canola go?
Basis levels have recently improved
MarketsFarm — As September winds down, ICE Futures canola is poised to either climb higher or fall back, according to analyst Errol Anderson, president of ProMarket Communications in Calgary. That movement will largely be determined by the direction taken by November soybeans on the Chicago Board of Trade, which currently has support at US$13 per […] Read more
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