General Comments Commodity markets, including grain and soy markets, found plenty to worry about today. First, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told the People's Congress that the Chinese government was lowering its goal for annual GDP growth from 8.0 percent to 7.5 percent. It has been eight years since Chinese economic growth was that low. He also acknowledged that the slow growth of developed country economies was constricting Chinese exports and that China would encourage growth of domestic consumption to make up for it.Markets quickly concluded that the lower GDP goal would mean less Chinese demand for raw materials and therefore was bearish for the wide range of commodities for which China was a major importer. As an aside, we can certai...
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.