Key Takeaways:
Major meatpackers are seeing massive losses in their beef divisions, with cattle prices at record levels amid low inventories. Drought continues to persist in cattle-producing areas in the U.S. Cattle herd rebuilding is not at the levels needed to meaningfully raise total cattle inventories. There are not many realistic policy-initiated solutions to spark a cattle herd rebuild. It is a profitable market for poultry, which helps offset beef losses for companies that produce both. Poultry margins have been good with low feed costs. Restaurants have been promoting chicken menu items amid lower poultry prices. There is major investment in automation at poultry plants to maximize efficiency for an already profitable sector. Locki...
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...