Today is T-Day minus one, which is another way of saying that tomorrow, 6 July, is when the U.S. will impose 25 percent tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese imports as punishment for unfair trading practices. China will retaliate with 25 percent tariffs on a similar amount of imports from the U.S. that include a variety of U.S. agricultural products, most importantly soybeans. The Trump administration has threatened more tariffs on Chinese imports if China goes through, as it certainly will, with its retaliation. Thus, the trade war will be off and running. The impact of all this on soybean prices has been stark. With Chinese demand vanishing, November soybean futures have fallen more than $2.00/bushel in the last month. Meanwhile, as C...
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.