The role played by excessive speculation is a curious one. It seems that it only occurs when prices are rising, never when they are falling.As Gary Blumenthal noted in yesterday's WPI report, representatives of the EU Commission and the EU Parliament have reached an agreement to set speculative position limits on derivative trading in commodities as well as limits on computerized flash trading. Formal approval by EU member governments is expected in the months ahead. Back in the U.S., the CFTC is currently soliciting public comments on its revised proposal for speculative position limits in derivatives for 28 agricultural, metals and energy commodities which, according to the CFTC, are mandated by the Dodd-Frank legislation. The limits woul...
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.