Macroeconomics Argentina’s macroeconomic situation is not good. The peso, Argentina’s currency (AR$), has been depreciating in recent days while the official rate remains unchanged due to government intervention. The spread between the official rate and the “blue dollar” is about 70 percent (100 versus 170 ARS/USD). The country’s markets also suffered from MSCI Inc.’s decision to downgrade the country from an “emerging” to “standalone” market, a move that was worse than expected. The downgrade comes three years after MSCI downgraded Argentina from “frontier” market to an “emerging” market based on government controls and debt levels. The latest rating is al...
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...
Key Market Insights Geopolitical Limbo: Geopolitical risk remained a key driver across global commodity markets today. President Trump stated that the Iran memorandum of understanding is not yet final and warned that military action could resume if negotiations fail. Both sides continue w...
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.