World Perspectives
equities feed-grains soy-oilseeds

Commodities are in Vogue Again

In the 1840s, the ad hoc trading of physical lots of wheat, corn, rye, oats and hay on a street corner in Chicago eventually became transaction-based on standardized terms. That development allowed traders to buy and sell physical quantities of grain for delivery at specified times in the future rather than only for spot delivery. This then evolved into a formal futures market by the late 1860s under the auspices of the Chicago Board of Trade. The ability to buy/sell grain for future delivery and avoid the obligation to make or take actual delivery through opposite transactions effectively allowed traders to make bets on what prices would be at specified times in the future without ever owning the physical supplies that attracted speculator...

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feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Weather Worries Nearing a Ceiling

Large supplies and a strong dollar took their toll this week on corn and soybeans, but they still managed to outperform. Weather worries pushed wheat higher for a seventh straight session, and pork finally took a fall.  There was high volume trading in corn today but without any strong fee...

soy-oilseeds

Oilseed Highlights: Up, Despite Grey Clouds

The Market Brazil has been winning the soybean export war, and imported biodiesel feedstock threatens domestic crush margins, but Chicago trading this week appeared to shake off such concerns. July soybeans traded lower for the past three trading sessions but larger gains achieved at the beginn...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Jul 24 Corn closed at $4.5/bushel, down $0.02 from yesterday's close.  Jul 24 Wheat closed at $6.2225/bushel, up $0.0175 from yesterday's close.  Jul 24 Soybeans closed at $11.7725/bushel, down $0.025 from yesterday's close.  Jul 24 Soymeal closed at $344.7/short ton, down $2.9 f...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Weather Worries Nearing a Ceiling

Large supplies and a strong dollar took their toll this week on corn and soybeans, but they still managed to outperform. Weather worries pushed wheat higher for a seventh straight session, and pork finally took a fall.  There was high volume trading in corn today but without any strong fee...

soy-oilseeds

Oilseed Highlights: Up, Despite Grey Clouds

The Market Brazil has been winning the soybean export war, and imported biodiesel feedstock threatens domestic crush margins, but Chicago trading this week appeared to shake off such concerns. July soybeans traded lower for the past three trading sessions but larger gains achieved at the beginn...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Jul 24 Corn closed at $4.5/bushel, down $0.02 from yesterday's close.  Jul 24 Wheat closed at $6.2225/bushel, up $0.0175 from yesterday's close.  Jul 24 Soybeans closed at $11.7725/bushel, down $0.025 from yesterday's close.  Jul 24 Soymeal closed at $344.7/short ton, down $2.9 f...

Q1 GDP Comes in Low, Interest Rate Expected to Stay High

The Q1 2024 GDP was 1.6 percent, well below the pre-report consensus expectation of 2.4 percent, and down from 3.1 percent in Q1 2023 and 3.4 percent in Q4 2023. That rate was the slowest in almost two years, dating back to Q2 2022.  Recall that in the 2 February Ag Perspectives report on...

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From WPI Consulting

Forecasting developments in production agriculture

On behalf of a private U.S. agricultural technology provider, WPI’s team generated an econometric model to forecast the movement of concentrated corn production north and west from the traditional U.S. Corn Belt. WPI’s model has subsequently provided quantitative support to a multi-million-dollar investment into short-season corn variety development. WPI’s methodology included a series of interviews with regional grain elevators and seed consultants. Emphasizing outreach and communication with stakeholders who possess intimate sectoral knowledge – on-the-ground insights – is a regular component of WPI’s methodologies, made possible by WPI’s ever-growing network of industry contacts.

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