Macroeconomic Food Prices in July See Biggest Drop Since April 2017 With live hog and pork prices falling to breakeven levels, the overall food inflation rate for the month of July fell by 3.7 percent year-on-year. This marked the second straight month of food prices declining in the aggregate on yearly basis. It also parallels a slowing economy in China, as the second quarter GDP grew at an annualized rate of 7.9 percent, below the consensus estimate of 8.1 percent and down from the initial pandemic recovery of 18.3 percent for the first quarter. Pork prices in July dropped by 4.5 percent from the previous year, while fresh vegetables were down 4 percent. Meanwhile, other staple foodstuffs, which are up from a year ago, continue to see...
Weighing in on strategic realignment
WPI’s team was retained by the governing board of a U.S. industry organization to review a decision, reached by vote, to invest significant assets into the development and management of an export trading company. WPI’s team conducted a formal review of this decision and concluded that the current level of market saturation would limit the benefits of the investment. Based on WPI’s analysis and recommended actions, the board subsequently reversed its decision and undertook a strategic planning effort to identify more impactful investments. On behalf of numerous clients, WPI has not only assisted in identifying strategic paths but also advised their implementation.
What You Need to Know Today: Commodities were mostly lower across the board today after yesterday’s Federal Reserve meeting hinted at a potential interest rate hike later in 2026. The dollar index reached its highest level in over a year, and a strong dollar makes U.S. agricultural expor...
Tomorrow is the Juneteenth federal holiday, and the USDA, along with the rest of the federal government and the CME, will be closed, so the monthly Cattle on Feed report was released a day early. The total number of cattle on feed in feedlots with 1,000 head or more capacity on 1 June amounted...