Red spring wheat, grading No. 1, 13.5 per cent protein, reached $8 per bushel for the 2012-13 crop year. This is the highest price farmers have been able to lock in, since the open market era was announced in mid-December 2011. True to form, wheat prices began their seasonal turn higher, just as the U.S. […] Read more
Drozd: Spring wheat posts highest price of open market era
Drozd: Classic ‘head + shoulders top’ confirmed downturn in oat prices
To those less familiar with charting and technical analysis, the recent drop in oat prices may have come as a bit of a surprise. What I have found in my 30 years’ experience is that even though the oat futures market has a relatively small amount of open interest compared to actively traded commodities such […] Read more
Drozd: Reversal patterns signal a downturn in cattle prices
Markets can and often do change direction on a moment’s notice. Cattle prices were at a record high in early March 2012, but quickly turned down and dropped below the uptrending channel, thus ending the rally. An uptrending channel develops during a period of rising prices and support is determined by a line drawn across […] Read more
Drozd: Harami alerts hog farmers to downward correction
After rallying up, but failing to fill a gap between $91.475 and $91.650, lean hog prices on the weekly nearby candlestick chart turned back down on Feb. 24. The ensuing reversal pattern (sell signal) that developed is referred to as a harami on a candlestick chart. Lean hog prices have since lost more than six […] Read more
Drozd: Breakaway gap alerts soybean growers to counter-seasonal rally
On Dec. 19, 2011, a breakaway gap materialized, alerting soybean producers and traders alike to a sudden change in the price direction of the soybean market. In fact, this gap not only confirmed an end to the downward price spiral, but it marked the beginning of a counter-seasonal rally, with soybean prices rallying $1.65 per […] Read more
Drozd: Cattle rally to new historical high to begin 2012
Live cattle and feeder cattle rallied to a new historical high last week. In reaching $150, feeder cattle prices achieved a technical measurement derived from a rectangle pattern. Rectangles, or box formations as they are sometimes called, are found frequently on futures price charts. Most of the time, they are continuation, or sideways consolidation patterns, […] Read more
Drozd: How the euro impacts wheat prices
Charting and technical analysis may be likened to reading a price roadmap where patterns form on the chart representing the road signs. If one is going to undertake a study of charts, it is imperative to learn the signs and what their implications are for prices. Classic formations, once identified, will point the way, signal […] Read more
Drozd: Downtrend continues, Chicago wheat posts new contract low
Wheat prices at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) have dropped more than $3 per bushel since peaking in February 2011. A two-week reversal signaled a change in trend on Feb. 18. Chart analysis is not only useful for determining the market’s turns, but it can also be used to determine the price trend, and […] Read more
Drozd: Topping action in soybean meal alerts livestock producers not to panic
Livestock producers were left scratching their heads when the December 2011 soybean meal futures contract posted a new high in late August. The news was incredibly bullish, as concerns of an early frost were on producers’ minds. The big question was, “Should I be locking in the price of meal before it gets any higher?” […] Read more
Drozd: Gold shines in light of economic uncertainty
Gold has garnered a lot of attention since nearly doubling in price over the past three years and gaining over 600 per cent this past decade. Gold’s lustre comes from the fact investors have always viewed the shiny metal as a safe investment in times of economic uncertainty. Unknown outcomes for debt ridden countries such […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
