World Perspectives

Dissecting the Retail Sales Report

Retail sales rose 0.7 percent in November; this was slightly higher than the consensus expectations. There are a few nuances to consider, however. First, the Thanksgiving holiday was late this year. The holiday is on the fourth Thursday of the month. Given the way the calendar played out in 2024, and this being a leap year with an extra day in February, Thanksgiving was on 28 November – the latest possible date. Last year it was on 23 November and in 2022 was on 24 November. With Thanksgiving being late this year, so was Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the kickoff of the Christmas shopping season. Thus, there were fewer Christmas sale shopping days in November 2024 than in the past two years. For spending to increase over last year is a sign...

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Market Commentary: Momentum is Stalled Pending WASDE

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Summary of Futures

Dec 25 Corn closed at $4.055/bushel, down $0.015 from yesterday's close.  Sep 25 Wheat closed at $5.145/bushel, down $0.0375 from yesterday's close.  Nov 25 Soybeans closed at $9.875/bushel, down $0.0625 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Soymeal closed at $285.2/short ton, up $0 fr...

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Dicamba Registration Re-Proposed

On 23 July, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that three formulations of the pesticide dicamba would be open to a 30-day comment period to re-register dicamba for use as over-the-top (OTT) use on dicamba-tolerant crops, namely cotton and soybeans.  Previously, a federal d...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Momentum is Stalled Pending WASDE

After yesterday’s baseless bounce, today’s trading involved some retracement on a lack of fresh inputs. There was yet another flash corn export sale this morning, but higher volume sent corn futures lower. It was an unforgiving day, and the market is in a holding pattern until USDA&...

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Summary of Futures

Dec 25 Corn closed at $4.055/bushel, down $0.015 from yesterday's close.  Sep 25 Wheat closed at $5.145/bushel, down $0.0375 from yesterday's close.  Nov 25 Soybeans closed at $9.875/bushel, down $0.0625 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Soymeal closed at $285.2/short ton, up $0 fr...

soy-oilseeds

Dicamba Registration Re-Proposed

On 23 July, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that three formulations of the pesticide dicamba would be open to a 30-day comment period to re-register dicamba for use as over-the-top (OTT) use on dicamba-tolerant crops, namely cotton and soybeans.  Previously, a federal d...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: A Bounce but Fundamentals Unchanged

Unlike in previous days, commodity futures opened higher today and sustained upward momentum. There was some short covering and some correction from over-sold but it is unlikely the market has found a seasonal bottom. There is good demand, but there is also the potential for record crops. Next...

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From WPI Consulting

Illuminating the value of technical research

On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.

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