World Perspectives

Weaker Consumer Finances Darken Economic Outlook, Despite Interest Rate Cuts

The past two weeks have seen the typical influx of macroeconomic data releases, most of which helped prompt the Federal Reserve to issue its 50-bps interest rate cut on Wednesday. While the interest rate cut was initially viewed as a positive signal (lower interest rates generally increase economic activity), history suggests rate cuts can precede market corrections or recessions. This is highly dependent on other factor at play in the economy, which WPI attempts to examine here.  WPI looks at macroeconomics through three primary lenses: national-level factors, consumer income and finances, and consumer spending. The first, national-level factors, includes items such as stock market valuation, the Treasury yield curve, and the inflati...

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feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Weather Pressures Grains; Crush Pace Boosts Soybeans

The CBOT managed to recover from a dramatic overnight plunge with soybeans leading the fight to put values back in the green. Most of the news coming out of the weekend was bearish – between larger Russian wheat crop projections, the advancing South American harvests, and generally favora...

China Market Analysis

Corn/Feed USDA reports that Chinese domestic production of corn and wheat exceeds demand, but that barley is in a supply deficit and must be imported. China’s overall feed production is growing faster than its meat and egg output. China’s corn crop has been damaged by wetness, and i...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Mar 26 Corn closed at $4.2625/bushel, down $0.055 from yesterday's close.  Mar 26 Wheat closed at $5.3775/bushel, down $0.11 from yesterday's close.  Mar 26 Soybeans closed at $11.34/bushel, up $0.01 from yesterday's close.  Mar 26 Soymeal closed at $305.8/short ton, down $3.4 fr...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Weather Pressures Grains; Crush Pace Boosts Soybeans

The CBOT managed to recover from a dramatic overnight plunge with soybeans leading the fight to put values back in the green. Most of the news coming out of the weekend was bearish – between larger Russian wheat crop projections, the advancing South American harvests, and generally favora...

China Market Analysis

Corn/Feed USDA reports that Chinese domestic production of corn and wheat exceeds demand, but that barley is in a supply deficit and must be imported. China’s overall feed production is growing faster than its meat and egg output. China’s corn crop has been damaged by wetness, and i...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Mar 26 Corn closed at $4.2625/bushel, down $0.055 from yesterday's close.  Mar 26 Wheat closed at $5.3775/bushel, down $0.11 from yesterday's close.  Mar 26 Soybeans closed at $11.34/bushel, up $0.01 from yesterday's close.  Mar 26 Soymeal closed at $305.8/short ton, down $3.4 fr...

House Farm Bill Text Released

Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, Glenn Thompson (R-Pennsylvania), released the text of the farm bill on Friday. Markup is scheduled for next week. Some key highlights are shown below.  Commodities: Directs reporting on dairy production expenses to ensure that producer costs ar...

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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.

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