USDA release its Food Expenditure series data today through 2021. It is interesting data to look at given the current inflationary environment for food and the COVID pandemic and other perceived trends. The chart below shows the total consumer spending purchases for the “food at home” category is up by 15.7 percent versus purchases from various outlets.
Grocery sales, club stores, farmers markets, and direct sales from manufacturers (think meat locker plants, specialty and fancy foods - or more generically, local food) all rose around the same 13 to 14 percent, somewhere under the average. Other categories not included in the above chart were “other” stores (also up about 14 percent) and convenience stores (up abo...
What You Need to Know Today: The hot, dry weather forecast continues to drive strength in grain futures with corn and soybeans hitting another day of strong gains. Monday’s Crop Progress and Conditions data were in line with market expectations and showed relatively few concerns for the...
Yesterday we wrote about the Q1 GDP numbers and the June employment reports in an article entitled Real GDP for Q1 Relying on AI Buildout, Held Back by Consumer Spending. That article mentioned that consumer spending had become a drag on GDP. Nonetheless, real GDP in Q1 was revised upward to 2...
Key Takeaways: The Middle East and North Africa's arid climate and limited water resources have created a structural dependence on imported wheat. Government wheat tenders in major importing countries serve as important benchmarks for global trade, providing insight into exporter competitivene...
