World Perspectives
biofuel

Ethanol Sobriety Check

Politics and not economics drove the White House announcement today to approve year-round E15 fuel sales under an emergency waiver of the Clean Air Act’s requirements. Ethanol makes sense as an octane booster but less so as a gasoline substitute. Blending at the E15 level is already allowed in winter months and yet its use remains very low. The EIA has no measurement of E15 (or E85) use, but their best guess is 200 million gallons of E15, or 0.148 percent of all gasoline sold. Meanwhile, EIA says that “Almost all [95%] U.S. gasoline is blended with 10 percent ethanol.”  Corn only gained about 10 cents/bushel today despite a policy announcement that theoretically could have sent it into the stratosphere. Boosting etha...

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Policy Roundup

Fuzzy Math Among President Trump’s various assertions in last night’s State of the Union address was that tariffs would someday replace the income tax, but that is a mathematical impossibility. The value of imported goods is around $3 trillion, and the income tax generates nearly $5...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

May 26 Corn closed at $4.42/bushel, up $0.035 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Wheat closed at $5.6975/bushel, down $0.035 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soybeans closed at $11.65/bushel, up $0.0975 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soymeal closed at $321.8/short ton, up $7.4 from...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Soybeans Rally on PNW Export Rumors; Grains Ease on Profit Taking

The soy complex was the upside leader again on rumors of Chinese purchases of U.S. soybeans from the PNW, as well as some harvest and quality issues in Brazil. Soyoil continued to find support from hopes that the EPA will release its biofuel policy obligations in the coming few days, though no...

Policy Roundup

Fuzzy Math Among President Trump’s various assertions in last night’s State of the Union address was that tariffs would someday replace the income tax, but that is a mathematical impossibility. The value of imported goods is around $3 trillion, and the income tax generates nearly $5...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

May 26 Corn closed at $4.42/bushel, up $0.035 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Wheat closed at $5.6975/bushel, down $0.035 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soybeans closed at $11.65/bushel, up $0.0975 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soymeal closed at $321.8/short ton, up $7.4 from...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Soybeans Rally on PNW Export Rumors; Grains Ease on Profit Taking

The soy complex was the upside leader again on rumors of Chinese purchases of U.S. soybeans from the PNW, as well as some harvest and quality issues in Brazil. Soyoil continued to find support from hopes that the EPA will release its biofuel policy obligations in the coming few days, though no...

Supreme Court Ruling on Tariffs: Out with Old, In with New

Last Thursday, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld a lower court ruling that the tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were “contrary to the law.” However, as President Trump noted, the opinion remained silent on the issue of rebatin...

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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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