World Perspectives
equities

News Impacts on Commodity Volatility

Researchers from Northwestern, Stanford, and the University of Chicago tracked equity market volatility with articles from eleven different newspapers, and they unsurprisingly found that trade policy had no impact on the market prior to the election of Donald Trump (see NBER Working Paper No. 25720). In fact, the researchers’ Equity Volatility Index tracker indicated that news about government policy in general has become more greatly correlated with market volatility since 2017-18. Yet using this same theory and applying it to agricultural commodity futures prices was not as conclusive. As would be expected, commodity prices rose the day that the USMCA was signed and fell the day that President Trump announced higher duties on impor...

Related Articles
soy-oilseeds

WASDE Soybeans – June 2025

USDA’s outlook for 2025/26 U.S. soybeans is lower ending stocks compared with 2024/25. U.S. soybean crush for 2025/26 is projected at 2.49 billion bushels, up 70 million from the 2024/25 as higher soybean meal disappearance increases 2 percent due to greater pork and poultry production. I...

feed-grains

WASDE Corn – June 2025

USDA’s outlook for 2025/26 U.S. corn is for record supplies to create higher ending stocks. The corn crop is projected at 15.8 billion bushels, up 6 percent from a year ago due to increases in both area and yield. Planted area is estimated to be 95.3 million acres and yield is projected t...

wheat

WASDE Wheat – June 2025

USDA’s outlook for 2025/26 U.S. wheat is for yields to average 51.6 bushels per acre, which is up 0.4 bushels from last year. Hard Red Winter and White account for most of the increase. Total 2025/26 domestic use is a record 977 million bushels, mostly on food use. Exports are projected l...

soy-oilseeds

WASDE Soybeans – June 2025

USDA’s outlook for 2025/26 U.S. soybeans is lower ending stocks compared with 2024/25. U.S. soybean crush for 2025/26 is projected at 2.49 billion bushels, up 70 million from the 2024/25 as higher soybean meal disappearance increases 2 percent due to greater pork and poultry production. I...

feed-grains

WASDE Corn – June 2025

USDA’s outlook for 2025/26 U.S. corn is for record supplies to create higher ending stocks. The corn crop is projected at 15.8 billion bushels, up 6 percent from a year ago due to increases in both area and yield. Planted area is estimated to be 95.3 million acres and yield is projected t...

wheat

WASDE Wheat – June 2025

USDA’s outlook for 2025/26 U.S. wheat is for yields to average 51.6 bushels per acre, which is up 0.4 bushels from last year. Hard Red Winter and White account for most of the increase. Total 2025/26 domestic use is a record 977 million bushels, mostly on food use. Exports are projected l...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Jul 25 Corn closed at $4.445/bushel, up $0.06 from yesterday's close.  Jul 25 Wheat closed at $5.4375/bushel, up $0.1725 from yesterday's close.  Jul 25 Soybeans closed at $10.6975/bushel, up $0.275 from yesterday's close.  Jul 25 Soymeal closed at $291.9/short ton, down $2.6 fro...

Image
From WPI Consulting

Illuminating the value of technical research

On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.

Search World Perspectives

Sign In to World Perspectives

Don’t have an account yet? Sign Up