These are particularly risky times for commodity traders. Raw material markets are being pushed and pulled by geopolitical forces as well as rapidly changing and sometimes contradictory macro influences. The fundamentals of supply and demand seem to have been shunted to the sidelines. Consider the following: - The already shaky Iranian economy faces a set of U.S. sanctions, effective 4 November, that will curtail its oil exports and possibly generate a belligerent response to go along with its efforts to be the dominate power in the Middle East. Iran will surely be tempted to interfere with tanker traffic through the Straits of Hormuz and/or step up threats to Israel by its proxies in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria. Multiyear, high crude oil pric...
What You Need to Know Today: Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, including a proposal to halt attacks on civilian shipping that could help restore grain flows from Ukrainian ports. Tyson Foods announced plans to permanently close its Joslin, Illinois, beef processing facili...
The big news in the cattle markets yesterday was Tyson Foods’ move to close two more beef plants. One of them, the Joslin, Illinois, plant was shuttered immediately after the announcement. The other, in Eagle Mountain, Utah, is a case-ready plant that does not slaughter cattle. Tyson also...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday. In July, the CPI rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy, or the “core” infla...
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.