Analyses about the Russian war on Ukraine have tended to focus on the displacement of agricultural commodity sales and input shortfalls. However, the Biden Administration’s belated concession to ban imports of oil from Russia was based on the more substantial economic and political risks involved. At the narrow political level, relative voter happiness is correlated to the price of gasoline. The U.S. is headed into the summer driving season when gasoline demand will increase another 10-15 percent. The value of petroleum was already up 50 percent before the war, which is what emboldened Putin to act on Ukraine even if spring weather presented field problems for his mechanized divisions. Cutting off Russian oil supplies now at th...
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
Infrastructure investment due diligence
On behalf of a Canadian oilseed processer WPI's team provided market analysis, econometric modeling and financial due diligence in support of a $24 million-dollar investment in a Ukrainian crush plant. Consistent with WPI's findings, local production to supply the plant and the facility's output have expanded exponentially since the investment. WPI has conducted parallel work on behalf of U.S., South American and European clients, both private and public, in the agri-food space.