General Comments Commodities opened 2012 trading with an impressive rally that included grains and the soy complex. The rally was sponsored by a number of factors. The euro surged as Germany reported the lowest unemployment in 20 years, and the dollar fell, which helped prices of dollar-denominated commodities. There was some impressive economic news from the U.S. in the form of strong increases in manufacturing and construction. Chinese manufacturing activity in December showed a slight increase over November, thus raising hopes that the Chinese economy was not slowing -- at least not as much as feared. And it is the New Year, which is apparently attracting some return of investment money to commodities.The rally was quite broad based...
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.