World Perspectives

Strong Retail Sales Report and Inflation Outlook

The June retail sales report beat consensus expectations, rising 0.6 percent. Moreover, it was a strong report, with 10 out of 13 of the sales categories increasing. The largest increase was in the auto sector, a traditionally volatile category. June sales were up 1.2 percent, which came after a 3.8 percent drop in May, though the May report numbers were revised up in the June report to a much smaller drop. Astonishingly, auto sales are now up 6.5 percent over the past year.   Excluding auto sales, and the two other volatile categories, building materials and gas stations, the “core” retail sales posted a 0.5 percent increase. These “core” sales are up 4.5 percent in the past year, which is above the 3.9 pe...

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feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Court Ruling Rattles Markets; Corn Rallies on Export Demand

The CBOT was sharply lower to start the holiday-shortened trading week with Friday’s ruling that President Trump’s tariffs may be illegal throwing ag and other markets into confusion. The ruling makes unclear the outlook for negotiating further trade deals – or even continuing...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Dec 25 Corn closed at $4.23/bushel, up $0.0275 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Wheat closed at $5.2825/bushel, down $0.06 from yesterday's close.  Nov 25 Soybeans closed at $10.41/bushel, down $0.135 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Soymeal closed at $283.8/short ton, down $5.2 fr...

SCO versus West

Instead of focusing on foes, the transatlantic alliance needs to remediate itself. Media reactions to this past weekend’s Shanghai Cooperation Council was telling. The New York Times was shocked that Russian President Vladimir Putin has “friends.” CNN called it “stark op...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Court Ruling Rattles Markets; Corn Rallies on Export Demand

The CBOT was sharply lower to start the holiday-shortened trading week with Friday’s ruling that President Trump’s tariffs may be illegal throwing ag and other markets into confusion. The ruling makes unclear the outlook for negotiating further trade deals – or even continuing...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Dec 25 Corn closed at $4.23/bushel, up $0.0275 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Wheat closed at $5.2825/bushel, down $0.06 from yesterday's close.  Nov 25 Soybeans closed at $10.41/bushel, down $0.135 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Soymeal closed at $283.8/short ton, down $5.2 fr...

SCO versus West

Instead of focusing on foes, the transatlantic alliance needs to remediate itself. Media reactions to this past weekend’s Shanghai Cooperation Council was telling. The New York Times was shocked that Russian President Vladimir Putin has “friends.” CNN called it “stark op...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

WPI Crop Progress and Conditions App (Updated 2 September)

Update for 28 April 2025: Last year, users pointed out differences between the 5-year averages reported in this app and what USDA estimates in its weekly report. The difference exists because WPI calculates average based on the last 5 years of observations for the current week. In cases where o...

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From WPI Consulting

Infrastructure investment due diligence

On behalf of a Canadian oilseed processer WPI's team provided market analysis, econometric modeling and financial due diligence in support of a $24 million-dollar investment in a Ukrainian crush plant. Consistent with WPI's findings, local production to supply the plant and the facility's output have expanded exponentially since the investment. WPI has conducted parallel work on behalf of U.S., South American and European clients, both private and public, in the agri-food space.

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