The Bank of Canada surprised many this week, announcing a 100 basis-point increase in its interest rate. The market expected a 75 basis-point increase, and there was discussion of it being lower, not higher. Increasing interest rates are designed to curb inflation, which is climbing at an incredible rate. We want to know: what impact... Read More
Category: Economy & Financial Markets
If the best offence is a good defence, the reverse is also true. Momentum is a wave that's always better to ride when it's working in your favour. Since the fall of 2020, it has paid major dividends to grow and hold. Crop inventory has been in very tight hands and for very good reason.... Read More
What goes up must come down, but if you're waiting for deflation to begin any time soon, you may be in for a long wait. Inflation — and the increasing interest rates designed to put a pin in it — is top of mind for every economist right now, and Farm Credit Canada's chief economist... Read More
Grain markets are losing some steam as summer starts to heat up, but it's not the dry corn crop that's driving the sell-off. Joe Vaclavik, founder and president of Standard Grain based in Tennessee, says that yes, weather is front and centre for those with plenty of experience trading agriculture commodities, but there's far more... Read More
After a few years' pause, the Bank of Canada increased the overnight rate March 2, 2022. Analysts suggests it's the first of at leasts two or more increases for this calendar year alone, to try and cool inflation (that is sitting just below 6 per cent at last report). For lines of credit, variable rate... Read More
It seems the only certainty in the ag industry is knowing there will always be a level of uncertainty. Knowing this, Agricultural Economic Insights (AEI) have designed a tool to help farmers forecast commodity prices within specific timeframes, share their predictions, and even get a payout if they are the most accurate. David Widmar, with... Read More
The 2021 average increase in farmland values isn't entirely surprising, says J.P. Gervais, chief economist for Farm Credit Canada (FCC), but the magnitude of the increase certainly is. With a weighted average of 8.3 per cent on the year, the significant weather events of the year — the extreme drought for the Prairies and parts... Read More
It's widely speculated that the Bank of Canada is set to increase its interest rate beginning later this month, and likely will do so more than a few times over the course of 2022. While you can argue the validity of using interest rates to temper inflation, there's no doubt that Canada — and the... Read More
One of the conversations in the first few weeks of the new year often ask the question "What should I be paying attention to?" Farm Credit Canada (FCC) has released its list of the top 5 economic trends for Canadian agriculture and food to watch in 2022. J.P. Gervais, chief economist at FCC, joined RealAg... Read More
There might be some assumptions about what the impact of the ongoing pandemic has been on the global middle class and there might also be the underlying realities that explain what's going on. COVID changed everything in supply and production chains and really pointed out the precarious nature of those systems, says Carlo Dade, director... Read More