Grain and soy futures markets continue to follow a beat of their own. Much of the beat today was provided by another weekly export sales report that generally exceeded expectations. General Comments Macro attention is focused on tomorrow's U.S. jobs report from the Labor Dept., the official jobs report. December job creation was dismal, and financial markets are eager to see if it rebounds in January. The stock market is hopeful that the report will be favorable, apparently. The Dow gained strength in afternoon trading and closed up more than 180 points. Currency traders who hope for a good jobs report pushed the U.S. dollar higher today. Crude oil is also higher as is copper, while gold is nearly unchanged. The DJ-UBS Commodity Index clo...
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.