The CBOT showed mixed trends across its major ag markets on Wednesday with corn and KC wheat finding some short covering that stabilized values and led to small gains. A big part of the stability that came to corn futures was from a flood of export interest that has recently entered the market. Conversely, CBOT wheat and the soy complex saw early fundamentally-based selling push values below thresholds that, subsequently, triggered technical selling. Cattle futures jumped to fresh all-time highs for the day with strong early-week cash trade supporting the move. Positive news from the U.S. GDP numbers and the Federal Reserve’s decisions to hold interest rates steady also boosted bullish sentiments in the livestock sector. Traders are a...
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.
What You Need to Know Today: Market attention is shifting toward Tuesday’s USDA WASDE report, with analysts anticipating a modest reduction in U.S. corn production estimates and an increase in soybean production. The report could provide fresh direction for grain markets as traders reass...
Key Takeaways: WPI’s forecasts call for physical U.S. soybean crushing margins to weaken over the next four months and average $4.44/bushel by late February, while CBOT futures margins should rise modestly to about $2.40/bushel. A key catalyst for this is the expectation that U.S...
Regional News Black Sea trade dynamics remain central to European wheat and corn pricing, with the reported 26 percent increase in Ukraine’s October grain shipments adding pressure to markets. Concurrently, markets are waiting for the scheduled trilateral peace talks between the U.S...