(Bloomberg) -- Grains futures dropped as the outlook for big wheat, corn and soybean harvests in the US outweighed concerns over the impact of railway strikes in Canada, a major exporter of agricultural goods.
Across the US Midwest, scouts on a crop tour are finding evidence of of corn stalks with the tell-tale vibrant dark green leaves that typically signal plants will produce plump, starchy kernels of grain in the final stretches of the growing season. Soybean fields were also lush and healthy. Final figures from the Pro Farmer Crop Tour will be released late Thursday.
Meanwhile, Canada’s two biggest railways, accounting for almost 80% of the national network, shut down Thursday after talks with union leaders failed. That’s a problem for grain shipments, which heavily rely on rail transport.
A shift for wheat demand from Canada to the US due to the railway strike is uncertain as exporters anticipated the stoppage and were getting supplies into position to meet their commitments, according to StoneX Group Chief Commodities Economist Arlan Suderman.
“Even if our demand increases, we’ve got burdensome supplies, so I don’t see it having a significant impact at this point,” he said in an interview.
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