Commodity markets retraced some of the losses from Thursday, ending higher on Friday but not necessarily for the week. Corn is on a roll, nearing heights not seen in more than a year, but even cattle lost some of their bullish glow this week. 01172025MC_weeklychange.png 22.13 KBA key vect...
Transitioning to Trump at USDA and in Congress
Monday is the Presidential Inaugural. This week has seen several Senate confirmation hearings on cabinet appointees. Both the Republicans and Democrats, Trump transition team, and Congress are prepping for the new Administration which will show up to work on Tuesday morning. &...
Political Sillies
No Introspection: Joe Biden’s farewell address appears to have been written by a 25-year-old at the socialist leaning People’s Policy Project. He claims historic success but warns the country will become an oligarchic dystopia. He warned about a “dangerous concentration of power” amidst “very f...
Cow-Calf Revenues Set Record in 2024, Profitability to Continue in 2025
The rally in feeder cattle and calf prices from September 2024 through mid-January 2025 provided cow-calf producers with near-record profitability for the 2024 calf crop. Higher prices for calves and feeder cattle, combined with record- or near-record high values for cull cows, pushed cow-calf...
Transitioning to Trump at USDA and in Congress
Monday is the Presidential Inaugural. This week has seen several Senate confirmation hearings on cabinet appointees. Both the Republicans and Democrats, Trump transition team, and Congress are prepping for the new Administration which will show up to work on Tuesday morning. &...
Political Sillies
No Introspection: Joe Biden’s farewell address appears to have been written by a 25-year-old at the socialist leaning People’s Policy Project. He claims historic success but warns the country will become an oligarchic dystopia. He warned about a “dangerous concentration of power” amidst “very f...
Cow-Calf Revenues Set Record in 2024, Profitability to Continue in 2025
The rally in feeder cattle and calf prices from September 2024 through mid-January 2025 provided cow-calf producers with near-record profitability for the 2024 calf crop. Higher prices for calves and feeder cattle, combined with record- or near-record high values for cull cows, pushed cow-calf...
FOB Prices and Freight Rates App (Updated 17 January)
Ocean Freight Comments - 17 January 2025By Matt HerringtonIn the past month since WPI last provided our freight market commentary, dry bulk ocean freight rates have not done much at all. The holiday doldrums left markets to drift sideways/lower with slack cargo demand and little other excitemen...
Martin Luther King Holiday
Please note that Monday, 20 January is a U.S. federal holiday in honor of the remarkable achievements of Martin Luther King, Jr. As a result, both the markets and World Perspectives, Inc. are closed that day. The next Ag Perspectives report will be published on Tuesday, 21 January. ...
FOB Prices and Freight Rates App (Updated 17 January)
Ocean Freight Comments - 17 January 2025By Matt HerringtonIn the past month since WPI last provided our freight market commentary, dry bulk ocean freight rates have not done much at all. The holiday doldrums left markets to drift sideways/lower with slack cargo demand and little other excitemen...
Market Commentary: Give Us Our Daily Brake
Futures took a weather break today. The rain slated for Argentina and southern Brazil this weekend doesn’t appear monumental, but something is better than nothing, and something is all it takes to put brakes on a borderline market. The day’s trading closely tracked the overnight, with red showi...
Livestock Roundup: Food Inflation Driven by Proteins
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for December yesterday. For the month, the CPI was up 0.4 percent, while year-over-year it was up 2.9 percent. The core CPI – excluding energy and food – was up 3.2 percent, well above the Fed’s 2 percent target...
Export Sales
Export Sales and Shipments for January 3-9, 2025Wheat: Net sales of 513,400 metric tons (MT) for 2024/2025 were up noticeably from the previous week and up 55 percent from the prior 4-week average. Export shipments of 196,500 MT were down 53 percent from the previous week and 50 percent from th...
Summary of Futures
Mar 25 Corn closed at $4.745/bushel, down $0.0425 from yesterday's close. Mar 25 Wheat closed at $5.375/bushel, down $0.095 from yesterday's close. Mar 25 Soybeans closed at $10.19/bushel, down $0.2375 from yesterday's close. Mar 25 Soymeal closed at $294.4/short ton, down $7.6 f...
Oilseed Highlights: U.S. Crush Trends and Acreage Outlook
U.S. Soybean Crush Dynamics On Wednesday, National Association of Oilseed Processors (NOPA) said its members crushed an all-time record volume of soybeans of 206.6 Mbu, up 7 percent from November and up 5.7 percent from December 2023. Soyoil stocks came in at 1.24 billion pounds, which was...
Summary of Futures
Mar 25 Corn closed at $4.7875/bushel, up $0.0425 from yesterday's close. Mar 25 Wheat closed at $5.47/bushel, up $0.0075 from yesterday's close. Mar 25 Soybeans closed at $10.4275/bushel, down $0.0475 from yesterday's close. Mar 25 Soymeal closed at $302/short ton, down $3.8 from...