The Market If traders were nervous headed into the three-day Memorial Day weekend, concerns appeared to be to the upside. The lack of demand had soybean prices falling but this week saw a turnaround that was untimely for speculators. They had spent last week creating a net short position in soybeans of 4,688 contracts. (Note that on a disaggregated basis, managed money still had a tiny net long in soybeans of 710 contracts.) This week’s rally forced a lot of short-covering. For the week, July soybeans added 2.3 percent, July soyoil was up 3.2 percent, and July soymeal lost 1.6 percent in value. It is important to note that the largest increase was for old crop soybeans where supplies are tight. November soybeans added 17.25 ce...
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: 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...
Key Takeaways: The Middle East and North Africa's arid climate and limited water resources have created a structural dependence on imported wheat. Government wheat tenders in major importing countries serve as important benchmarks for global trade, providing insight into exporter competitivene...