USDA surprised the markets today with significant changes to its U.S. commodity balance sheets. After the initial surprise, however, market settled down and closed with relatively small gains/losses. Of the agency’s changes to the U.S. supply/demand outlook, the most notable is the reduction of 2017/18 corn ending stocks forecasts due to higher exports. Conversely, reductions in soybean exports outweighed lower planted area expectations and left additional supplies in 2017/18 ending stocks for that commodity. USDA projections for the wheat market included few changes, except a bearish addition to ending stocks. Outside markets are struggling this afternoon with the Dow down another 600 points as of this writing and the S&...
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...
From WPI Consulting
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.