World Perspectives
livestock

China In-Country Analysis

Macro Trends Food Inflation Reaches Highest Level in Seven and a Half Years The effects of the August 2018 outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) have continued to reverberate across China’s economy in 2019. In the second quarter of this year, food inflation has hit levels not seen since 2012. This spring’s run-up in the cost of food began when those prices climbed 4.1 percent in March versus March 2018, which occurred as live hog prices recovered following the Lunar New Year celebration in February. In April, food prices shot up 6.1 percent on an annualized basis, marking the largest monthly increase since April 2016. Then came an 18.2 percent surge in the cost of pork in May along with price increases of 26.7 percent for fres...

Related Articles
livestock

Cattle on Feed - April 2025

U.S. cattle on Feed totaled totaled 11.6 million head on April 1, 2025 - 2 percent below April 1, 2024.  Placements in feedlots during March totaled 1.84 million head, 5 percent above 2024.  Marketings of fed cattle during March totaled 1.73 million head, 1 percent above 2024.  O...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

May 25 Corn closed at $4.8225/bushel, down $0.02 from yesterday's close.  May 25 Wheat closed at $5.4875/bushel, up $0.01 from yesterday's close.  May 25 Soybeans closed at $10.365/bushel, down $0.0225 from yesterday's close.  May 25 Soymeal closed at $295.6/short ton, down $1.1...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Pre-Holiday Low Volume with Mixed Outcomes

There might be more life on the planet K2-18b than was seen in some of the trading pits today. While some contracts closed higher and others lower, the one consistent thing was lower pre-holiday volume across grains and oilseeds.  Ahead of a three-day market hiatus, all major contracts clo...

livestock

Cattle on Feed - April 2025

U.S. cattle on Feed totaled totaled 11.6 million head on April 1, 2025 - 2 percent below April 1, 2024.  Placements in feedlots during March totaled 1.84 million head, 5 percent above 2024.  Marketings of fed cattle during March totaled 1.73 million head, 1 percent above 2024.  O...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

May 25 Corn closed at $4.8225/bushel, down $0.02 from yesterday's close.  May 25 Wheat closed at $5.4875/bushel, up $0.01 from yesterday's close.  May 25 Soybeans closed at $10.365/bushel, down $0.0225 from yesterday's close.  May 25 Soymeal closed at $295.6/short ton, down $1.1...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Pre-Holiday Low Volume with Mixed Outcomes

There might be more life on the planet K2-18b than was seen in some of the trading pits today. While some contracts closed higher and others lower, the one consistent thing was lower pre-holiday volume across grains and oilseeds.  Ahead of a three-day market hiatus, all major contracts clo...

Good Friday

Tomorrow, 18 April, is a holiday for the CBOT/CME markets in observance of Good Friday. Please note that our office will also be closed. The next Ag Perspectives will be published Monday, 21 April. ...

Image
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.

Search World Perspectives

Sign In to World Perspectives

Don’t have an account yet? Sign Up