Crude oil prices are at a four-year high and on a trend toward five straight quarters of increases – the longest bull market in more than 10 years. As is often the case with the oil markets, geo-politics is a driving force. U.S. sanctions on Iran are set to go into effect on 4 November, and resulting supply controls by OPEC and Russia are propping up prices. OPEC is especially enjoying the bull ride. Last year net oil export revenues were about $567 billion, up 20 percent from 2016. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is projecting they will grow another 30 percent this year to $736 billion, according to its August forecasts. The difference between past periods of OPEC production control, supply interruptions and market...
What You Need to Know Today: After a period of limited activity, USDA reported a sizeable 613 KMT in soybean export sales, including 330 KMT to China and 283 KMT to unknown destinations, potentially also China. The purchases represent a meaningful pickup in demand and bring China closer to ful...
Key Takeaways: Consumer spending is a key driver of the U.S. economy, and the latest retail sales data indicate that spending remains robust despite inflation. In September, total retail and food service sales rose more than 6 percent year-over-year, with food service spending up 7 percent and...
The Trump import plan for 300,000 MT of beef supplies used for ground beef, i.e., lean trim, from September through November has, according to Secretary Brooke Rollins, brought some relief to beef prices. The Executive Order states that the Secretary of Agriculture will analyze and review the m...
From WPI Consulting
Accountability and a comprehensive approach to export programming
WPI’s team helped construct a strategic approach to develop, implement, and track promotional activities in 8 key regions across the globe for an agricultural export association. With continued progress measurement and strategic advisory services from WPI, the association has seen its ROI from investments in promotional programming increase by 44 percent over the past 5 years. Not only does this type of holistic approach to organizational strategy provide measurable results to track and analyze, it fosters top-down and bottom-up organizational accountability.