General Comments Markets were generally lower in the Sunday evening session with no support from the outside markets. In fact, financial markets in Asia, Europe and the U.S. were all lower today. The dollar was marginally stronger early (but faded late) and metals were lower. Crude oil was fractionally higher. In short, the week started without much fanfare of any type. Weakness in financial markets seemed to be caused by statements from China that GDP might only expand by 7.5 percent in 2012. That would be an eight-year low. Growth the last quarter of 2011 was 8.9 percent. Slower growth in China would also mean slower or reduced growth in commodity consumption and imports.Funds were buyers of agricultural commodities early in the sess...
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
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.