Export Development Canada (EDC) released its global outlook for next year, with strong growth projected in all provinces and on the national front. The value of total exported goods are expected to rise by four per cent. The rise follows a strong year for 2018, with exports forecast to be up six per cent. Manitoba... Read More
Category: Economy & Financial Markets
So often grain markets take the stairs up, but the elevator down. If you're getting dizzy watching global trade and global markets racing up and down like a rollercoaster, you're likely wondering what the impact is of all this volatility. Craig Klemmer, principal agriculture economist for Farm Credit Canada, joins Shaun Haney for a frank... Read More
On Friday, the Canadian dollar rose nearly a cent relative to the U.S. dollar. The sudden ‘strength’ came from a couple of sources. First, more confidence that the Bank of Canada will continue the path gradual rate hikes; second, a weaker U.S. Dollar. Recent Canadian economic data warrants the Bank’s outlook for gradual rate increases.... Read More
The Bank of Canada increased the target interest rate today by 0.25%, to 1.5%. This is now the fourth rate hike, amounting to 1%, since the Bank hiked rates for the first time since 2007 a year ago. Over the last year, the Bank of Canada has matched the aggressiveness of the U.S. Federal Reserve,... Read More
Grain markets had a very rough week heading into the middle of June, surrounded by trade uncertainty and positive crop conditions. In fact, forget about crop conditions. Or rainfall. Or heat units. Whether or not the borders are open for business has become the only fundamental factor that really seems to matter to the direction... Read More
Wednesday was a big day for economic news in both Canada and also for our friends south of the border, in the United States. Here at home, the market is digesting the most recent GDP data for November, while the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee made the decision to hold interest rates in the country.... Read More
Last week there were reasons for confusion on what direction the American dollar might take based on White House policy. Most of the confusion last week was driven by comments made by different members of the White House team. "It's interesting, it's almost like currency wars at the moment," says Matthew Pot of Grain Perspectives... Read More
As the Bank of Canada raised its target interest rate a 1/4 point this week, there is disagreement in how the Canadian economy will fare in 2018. While one or two more rate hikes are expected in 2018, there are also concerns on the horizon for the Canadian economy. As we hear from Farm Credit... Read More
The Bank of Canada raised target rates this morning by 0.25 percent. The Canadian dollar (CAD) initially responded by falling over a half cent, but closed the day slightly higher. While rate hike announcements tend to inspire a bullish dollar, what is often overlooked is what the market was expecting prior to the announcement. In... Read More
Before we begin to explain how blockchain may be a game changer for agricultural marketing let's answer that question that is likely at the top of your mind. "What the the heck is blockchain?" According to the Harvard Business Review, it is "an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and... Read More