With the stronger U.S. dollar, weaker soybeans and corn plus the absence of any supportive news or inputs, today’s stronger wheat market seems hard to rationalize. General Comments Soybean and corn futures engaged in a sort of Turnaround Tuesday performance, while wheat futures bucked that trend by shaking off earlier weakness to close higher. Wheat’s higher close came despite a pre-Fed rally that pushed the U.S. Dollar Index back above 98.25 amid widespread expectations that the federal funds rate will be increased by .25 percent at the close of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting tomorrow afternoon. Expectations of a hike must surely be priced into the U.S. dollar by now, and the financial markets’ initial reaction may well...
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What You Need to Know Today: The corn and soybean markets closed slightly higher in low-volume trade. The wheat market was mixed, with HRW continuing its downward trek on improved moisture. As expected, the bearish cattle on feed report drove down cattle prices and pulled hogs down with it. Mi...
Monday, 25 May is a U.S. holiday, and both the markets and our office will be closed. Please note that the next issue of Ag Perspectives will be published on Tuesday, 26 May. The WPI staff wishes everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend...
USDA’s monthly cattle on feed report was released today. The total number of cattle on feed in feedlots with 1,000 head or more capacity amounted to 11.6 million head, 102 percent of last year. Source: USDA, WPI Placements were up, but part of that is attributable to persistent drought c...