On the morning of Dec. 30, the nearby January canola contract apparently hit a new all-time high.  Photo: File

Another volatile holiday week for grain markets

MarketsFarm – As trading is most often volatile between Christmas and New Year’s, this week did not disappoint. Canola pretty much ran the gamut, swinging higher one day, falling back the next. During the overnight session that ended on the morning of Dec. 30, the nearby January contract apparently hit a new all-time high when […] Read more

(PamWalker68/iStock/Getty Images)

ICE weekly outlook: Hard to say where canola is going 

MarketsFarm – There was a first for canola on Dec. 29, in that three contracts exceeded C$1,000 per tonne at the same time. In the sharp upswing during that Wednesday morning on the Intercontinental Exchange, the nearby January, March and May canola contracts respectively reached new highs with the former hitting the daily limit of […] Read more


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Prairie cash wheat: Prices booked remarkable upswing in 2021

U.S. wheat futures well up on year

MarketsFarm — There were huge gains in wheat prices in Western Canada this past year. Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) and Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) wheats shot up by $200 per tonne or more, while those for Canada Western Amber Durum (CWAD) spiked well in excess of $400 per tonne. Significant increases in U.S. […] Read more


Lentils. (Seb_ra/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: Lentils steady during holidays

MarketsFarm — There isn’t much movement in lentil prices as the market is in holiday mode, according to Dale McManus of Johnston Grains at Welwyn, Sask. “We’re doing two or three loads every second or third day, but not over-pushing it,” he said. Prices for lentils have been very steady this week. Lairds in Western […] Read more


ICE March 2022 canola (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola futures bend under pressure

MarketsFarm — As the speculative longs for ICE Futures canola keep trying to defend their position, trader Ken Ball of PI Financial in Winnipeg said the pressure on canola continued to build. That’s especially so with declines over the last few weeks in Chicago soyoil, Malaysian palm oil and European rapeseed, he said. “No one […] Read more

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Prairie cash wheat: Lower U.S. prices pull back bids

U.S. March wheat futures down on week

MarketsFarm — Wheat bids in Western Canada retreated by double digits for Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) and Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) wheats, while those for Canada Western Amber Durum (CWAD) declined more moderately. Significant decreases in U.S. wheat markets and a stronger Canadian dollar combined to weaken Prairie prices. Average CWRS (13.5 protein) […] Read more

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Pulse weekly outlook: Expect little movement in prices during holidays

MarketsFarm — There were no surprises for pulses in Statistics Canada’s latest production report, according to Marlene Boersch of Mercantile Venture Consulting in Winnipeg. With that in mind, she doesn’t expect any significant price changes for pulses. “Part of the reason is we’re starting to glide into the holiday period. We’ll probably see some movement […] Read more


File photo of a CN locomotive in Winnipeg. (Dave Bedard photo)

CN again reopens Kamloops-Vancouver corridor

'Quite a bit' of traffic shifted to Prince Rupert

MarketsFarm — After recent heavy rains forced Canadian National Railway to close its Kamloops-to-Vancouver corridor for a second time, the railway reopened its critical line to Canada’s busiest port on Sunday. CN spokesperson Jonathan Abecassis said the corridor was initially closed a second time during the most recent spell of heavy rains in southwestern British […] Read more

ICE March 2022 canola (candlesticks) with 20- and 50- day moving averages (yellow and dark green lines). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Days of $1,000 canola done, for now

MarketsFarm — There very likely won’t be any resurgence in canola that would see old-crop futures exceed $1,000 per tonne in the near future, according to analyst Errol Anderson of ProMarket Communications in Calgary. In recent days, canola has been taking a series of hard hits, which have pulled the January and March contracts under […] Read more