It is Christmas Eve and U.S. commodity futures markets close 75 minutes earlier than usual. The cost of this 29 percent reduction in trading time is likely to be a drop in volume of more than 50 percent. Volume also drops in years in which the last trading session is not Christmas Eve (e.g. 2016 and 207), but by only around half as much. While the closes are generally mixed, more often than not over the past five years, the closes have involved small gains in the corn and soybean contracts, and not so much for wheat. The trade is conflicted this year in that the temptation is to book profits and exit riskier positions ahead of a long shutdown in the market. At the same time, there is a continuing bullish bent to the market and getting out...
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.