Wednesday, March 19, 2025, 7:15 a.m.

Tuesday was mixed day for our markets.  Harvest corn closed up 1/4, harvest soybeans closed down 3, harvest winter wheat closed down 3 and harvest spring wheat closed up 1/2.  In the overnight trade all of our markets are hovering around even.  Oil closed down $0.68 yesterday at $66.90 per barrel.  It is weaker in trading again this morning with it now valued at $66.70 per barrel.  Our dollar had a high of $0.701 US yesterday before noon and has trended lower since then.  This morning it is currently valued at $0.698 US.

The wheat market was higher yesterday but pulled back as the day progressed.  It likely has just come back up just a bit too quick for the market and is starting now to retrench as it waits to see how the ratings for the winter wheat crop in the US will work out this spring.

The spread between US soybeans and soybeans from Brazil on a FOB basis has narrowed significantly.  Normally at this time of the year with the harvest in Brazil over two thirds completed the marketplace would be looking for soybeans from Brazil to be much less expensive.  As demand from China has increased this has not occurred.  This has the potential to make US soybeans more attractive for foreign purchases (not named China) going forward.

The marketplace is also starting to trade with anticipation of the major USDA reports released at the end of this month.  They are the Quarterly Stocks Report and also the Planting Intentions Report.  There are some rumours that corn stocks may not be decreasing as much in the US as the trade has been estimating.  With larger stocks and what is most likely to be a large increase in corn acres this year we could see pressure on corn prices going forward.

I hate to say this but it sure has been nice to write a couple of these daily blogs without just focusing on tariffs.  Trump is now making noise with a potential ceasefire deal between Russia and Ukraine.  How this would affect our markets is yet to be seen.

If you would like to talk about the markets or price some of your crop for the future or in store, please reach out to us via phone or email to info@northgowergrains.com. Prices quoted herein are for product at our elevator.