The war in Ukraine continues to push commodity futures higher and today was not the end in that trend. The market is scrambling to replace the wheat and sunflower oil normally supplied from the Black Sea region and the Bloomberg Commodity Spot Index indicates this is the largest gain in commodity values since the 1970’s, and tomorrow could push it to the largest since the 1960’s. There were new contract highs in corn, soyoil, HRW and HRS, though volumes dropped as the highs were hit very early in the session. The highs will be sustained until some resolution of the crisis occurs and it appears that spring crops will get planted in the region. Theoretically, Russia could reverse course tomorrow and the whole market will go limit...
Russian Grain Markets: 29 June-3 July 2026 The new marketing season has officially begun in Russia, although bearish sentiment has been concentrated in the southern regions closest to the Black Sea ports, where export demand has been weakest. Delays in grain deliveries to inland elevators have...
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...
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.