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Volatility to remain name of the game for rest of 2020

A market analyst believes the final two months of 2020 will be full of volatility.

Total Farm Marketing senior market advisor Naomi Blohm says traders are watching the U.S. harvest and South American planting, export activity, the stock market, and the upcoming election.

“That’s going to bring a whole new realm of volatility, and the aftermath of whoever wins the election or how long it takes to decide a winner. So yeah, the grain markets have some friendly tones to them overall, but the world may still be on edge as we get through the elections (and) go through COVID 2.0.”

She tells Brownfield farmers can mitigate risk by knowing what’s available locally through cash contracts.

“And for the past few years, futures and options haven’t maybe necessarily been used as often because the markets were pretty ho-hum. But now you’ve got to really brush up on those skills as well because to help manage risk and capture opportunities, you do need to know how the futures and options work.”

Blohm says volatility will spill into 2021 with questions swirling about a possible Phase Two trade deal with China and drought concerns in the U.S.