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: Volatility But Stability

It was a very active open this morning with lots of lead changes as corn and soybean traders wrestled over whether bears or bulls were in control. Even winter wheat, which looked solidly in the green took a brief turn south. Volumes were robust and trade volatile but in the end, only bean oil a...

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Export Sale

Export Sales and Shipments for May 23-29, 2025  Wheat: Net sales reductions of 49,100 metric tons (MT) for 2024/2025. Export shipments of 540,100 MT were up 8 percent from the previous week and 20 percent from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were primarily to Indonesia (81,100 M...

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Summary of Futures

Jul 25 Corn closed at $4.395/bushel, up $0.0075 from yesterday's close.  Jul 25 Wheat closed at $5.455/bushel, up $0.0225 from yesterday's close.  Jul 25 Soybeans closed at $10.5175/bushel, up $0.0675 from yesterday's close.  Jul 25 Soymeal closed at $297.1/short ton, up $0 from...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Volatility But Stability

It was a very active open this morning with lots of lead changes as corn and soybean traders wrestled over whether bears or bulls were in control. Even winter wheat, which looked solidly in the green took a brief turn south. Volumes were robust and trade volatile but in the end, only bean oil a...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Export Sale

Export Sales and Shipments for May 23-29, 2025  Wheat: Net sales reductions of 49,100 metric tons (MT) for 2024/2025. Export shipments of 540,100 MT were up 8 percent from the previous week and 20 percent from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were primarily to Indonesia (81,100 M...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Jul 25 Corn closed at $4.395/bushel, up $0.0075 from yesterday's close.  Jul 25 Wheat closed at $5.455/bushel, up $0.0225 from yesterday's close.  Jul 25 Soybeans closed at $10.5175/bushel, up $0.0675 from yesterday's close.  Jul 25 Soymeal closed at $297.1/short ton, up $0 from...

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Oilseed Highlights: U.S. Crush Margins Set to Rise; China Soymeal Prices Remain Weak

The Market  U.S. soybean prices have mostly been treading water these past few weeks with neither bulls nor bears able to get the upper hand for more than a few days. Continued trade war worries and challenges building negotiations between the U.S. and China have contributed to recent weak...

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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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