Markets were very quiet in the Sunday night session and closed with fractional losses in extremely light volume. Their tone changed at this morning’s opening with soybeans trading 5-7 cents higher as the soy complex led today’s rally. Corn and wheat followed, and no one was certain why soybean futures grew so strong. Funds were covering short positions and buyers of basically everything by the end of the day. That took soybeans, corn and wheat above some technical resistance, which brought more short covering. Weather forecasts are bearish for the U.S. Corn Belt with warmer and, more importantly, drier conditions in the extended outlooks. Weekly export inspections were good but not outside the expected ranges. There were no exp...
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
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.