World Perspectives
softs

Going up with a Bang

A futures contract that persistently moves up or down by just a penny or two each day imposes its own burden on the market. While speculators are said to prosper from volatility, and sellers want higher prices and buyers prefer them lower, everyone prefers a story. Apparently, the cotton market is boring everyone involved. It has traded in the same 69₵ to 72₵ range for months, and the October WASDE failed to provide any other direction. 

While the U.S. cotton market has seen volatility in recent years, over three-quarters of it is exported to the world market, which has been flatter than a pancake for years. 

The lack of demand growth against synthetics has been a challenge. Expectations lean bearish. However, war-torn Ukrai...

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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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