Corn traded over $6/bushel for the first time since 2013. The Chinese continue to buy and now biofuels demand is bouncing back. One buyer said corn is actually getting harder to find and buy. Overall surplus global grain stocks are down 8 percent from 2016/17 at the same time consumption continues to grow at 2 percent per year. Some call it a mini super-cycle and the risk of inflation is bringing even more capital into commodities. Bloomberg points out that the word “shortages” has increased in occurrence substantially in the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, which is published eight times a year.
The good news is that pushing commodities past psychological thresholds like $6 corn and $14 soybeans prompts farmers to s...
What You Need to Know Today: Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, including a proposal to halt attacks on civilian shipping that could help restore grain flows from Ukrainian ports. Tyson Foods announced plans to permanently close its Joslin, Illinois, beef processing facili...
The big news in the cattle markets yesterday was Tyson Foods’ move to close two more beef plants. One of them, the Joslin, Illinois, plant was shuttered immediately after the announcement. The other, in Eagle Mountain, Utah, is a case-ready plant that does not slaughter cattle. Tyson also...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday. In July, the CPI rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy, or the “core” infla...