There was no unexpected export business around or any adverse weather forecast that could have been the cause. This would seem to be a good old-fashioned short covering rally ahead of next Friday's USDA reports that was led by some significant fund buying.Traders turned their screens on last night expecting to see lower openings ahead of this Friday's USDA reports and with what looks like generally good harvest weather ahead. That didn't happen. Instead, markets opened very strong, led by soybeans with wheat and corn a lengthy distance behind. By this morning, November soybean futures were trading 15-16 cents higher and bumping right up against last week's technical resistance at $9.30. They eventually traded as high as $9.43 and closed jus...
What You Need to Know Today: The corn and soybean markets closed slightly higher in low-volume trade. The wheat market was mixed, with HRW continuing its downward trek on improved moisture. As expected, the bearish cattle on feed report drove down cattle prices and pulled hogs down with it. Mi...
Key Market Insights Macro markets delivered a full whipsaw today. Early in the session, crude oil had rallied back above $100/barrel as traders priced renewed concern over the U.S.-Iran standoff and potential supply risk through the Strait of Hormuz. That strength helped pull grains off their o...
From WPI Consulting
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.