The shakeout of developing countries' currencies and world stock markets appears to have subsided at least for now. The U.S. dollar is higher, although it lost some of the gains when U.S. durable goods orders unexpectedly fell in December. General Comments The shakeout of developing countries' currencies and world stock markets appears to have subsided at least for now. Numerous countries have taken steps to shore up their currencies, and stock markets around the world have generally turned higher. This includes U.S. stock indices that are up at this writing after three days of losses. The U.S. dollar is also higher, although it lost some of the gains when U.S. durable goods orders unexpectedly fell in December. WTI crude oil is up sharpl...
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.