WTO on Exchange Rates Director General Pascal Lamy opened the WTO Seminar on Exchange Rates and Trade by warning that the subject is complex, emotional and likely hurts smaller firms more than large multinationals. Actually, a study just released by the OECD (Trade Policy Paper No. 136) concludes that exchange rate fluctuations impact the trade flows of small, open economies more than larger economies. Mr. Lamy also emphasizes that the burden is on the IMF and other institutions. He said, "We need an international monetary system which facilitates international trade." Actually, we need a system that is neutral on trade; the problem has been mercantilist efforts to game exchange rates for narrow nationalist purposes. Study on Brazilian...
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.