West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures hit $130.50/barrel Sunday night, while Brent crude reached a high of $139.13/barrel in overnight trading. Today, WTI opened today at $119/barrel. Brent crude opened at $122/barrel. The front-month Brent contract price first settled above $100/barrel on 28 February and last rose above $100/b in late 2014. The front-month WTI contract price closed above $110/b on 3 March after first settling above $100/b on 1 March. Oil has been volatile since reports that Russian forces further invaded Ukraine on Thursday, 24 February, but the bullish run caught fire last week as the discussions of sanctions heated up and the U.S. announced a release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). See...
What You Need to Know Today: Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, including a proposal to halt attacks on civilian shipping that could help restore grain flows from Ukrainian ports. Tyson Foods announced plans to permanently close its Joslin, Illinois, beef processing facili...
The big news in the cattle markets yesterday was Tyson Foods’ move to close two more beef plants. One of them, the Joslin, Illinois, plant was shuttered immediately after the announcement. The other, in Eagle Mountain, Utah, is a case-ready plant that does not slaughter cattle. Tyson also...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday. In July, the CPI rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy, or the “core” infla...
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.