Wittal: Watch for wider spread on wheat protein

Sept. 17 –– Financial and energy markets were mixed today, looking as though they were lost and wondering aimlessly with little or no direction. The U.S. dollar rose slightly today on limited news and trading. The Canadian dollar closed up 0.15 cents, at US93.94 cents. The Dow Jones September quote finished up 14 points at […] Read more

Wittal: Warm weather outlook cools yesterday’s rally

Sept. 16 — Financial and energy markets continue to show steady gains as the U.S. dollar fell just over a third of a cent again today. Near-term forecasts for warmer weather through the major U.S. grain regions for the next seven days have frost threats pushed to the back burner, which took the wind out […] Read more


Wittal: Yields, quality beat farmers’ expectations

Sept. 15 –– Financial and energy markets showed steady gains today, which helped set the tone for the day for other markets as well. Forecasts for frost for next week seemed to catch the interest of traders. Add to that renewed buying interest in the grains and you have yourself a mini-rally as we saw […] Read more

Wittal: Good harvesting conditions pressure wheat

Sept. 14 –– Outside markets were able to finish with small gains today after starting the day off in negative territory, mostly due to the follow-through from the overnight markets. The U.S. dollar closed up slightly today; the Canadian dollar closed down at US92.32 cents. The Dow Jones September quote finished down at 9,611. Crude […] Read more

Wittal: USDA report neutral-to-bullish on wheat, corn

Sept. 11 –– Outside markets continued their somewhat lacklustre trading pattern this week, as financial markets ended mixed and energy markets ended down on the day and the week overall. The U.S. dollar closed down a further 0.13 cents today, down 1.5 cents this week. The Canadian dollar closed up at US92.87 cents, up three-quarters […] Read more


Wittal: Pre-report speculation drags grains down

Sept. 10 — It is pretty much a repeat from yesterday as financial and energy markets showed small gains today. Grains were mixed as reports of new sales of wheat and oilseeds helped to boost futures. No one was real excited to do much trading the day before the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s report is […] Read more

Wittal: Frost forecasts loom large

Sept. 9 — Financial and energy markets were able to hold onto small gains which helped keep grains from falling any further than they did today. Corn saw small gains while beans, wheat and canola fell slightly as harvest pressure continues to build. The U.S. dollar fell another three-10ths of a cent; the Canadian dollar […] Read more

Wittal: Markets’ next move depends on frost

Sept. 4 — Outside markets started the day in a down mood, then tried to turn it more positive as the day went on, and we did see small gains at the close. Grains followed along and continued to drift lower as other markets made an effort at a recovery. Good weather forecasts and steady […] Read more


Wittal: Quality crop may boost fertilizer prices

Sept. 3 — Outside and financial markets started the day off in a better mood and for the most part ended the day with positive gains. Grains tried to follow that example but it didn’t take long before selling started to undermine the futures and turn them lower, ending the day with further losses. Strong […] Read more

Wittal: Argentina’s farmers on strike

Sept. 3 — I was away at meeting all day yesterday so here is a quick review of what happened in the markets for Wednesday, Sept. 2. Markets continued to struggle Wednesday as there seemed to be limited trading activity, mainly due to the fact that no real news or items of interest were available […] Read more