What You Need to Know Today
Ag markets have placed bets on new soybean demand from China after next week’s Xi-Trump meeting. While the media predicts no major deals or agreements, Beijing sees Trump as transactional so it will “buy” some stability, and soybeans are relatively cheap ballast. Ag futures weighed all the inputs this week and mostly turned south. U.S. plantings are advancing at or near a record pace, and the weather will soon turn warmer, though it needs to turn much wetter. Argentina’s crop yields are surpassing expectations as the corn harvest is around a third complete. U.S. winter wheat is challenged, and spring wheat areas are too dry. Buyers have other options from areas wit...
What You Need to Know Today: Iran says its definition of the Strait of Hormuz is now a “vast operation area” that stretches from Jask to Siri Island. The White House said President Trump did not sign a suspension of the TRQs on beef imports but is “finalizing potential...
If the media headlines and Trump critics are to be believed, President Trump is headed to Beijing this Thursday in a weakened position. China is in control, it has the upper hand, and expectations are very low. These are the same critics that argue against overly simplistic zero-sum analyses in...
