Location, location, location. That's the name of the game in real estate and also in commodities. It's all about the basis. This is especially true about U.S. oil. High capacity utilization on the Gulf Coast and a new refinery facility in northwest Indiana have meant new mid-U.S. demands for crude oil. That has narrowed the spread between Brent crude oil and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil. It is now about $3.00 per barrel and had previously been $5.00-$15.00 per barrel.U.S. crude oil production has expanded rapidly – in fact, more rapidly than the infrastructure to hold it. That is why the Cushing, Oklahoma crude storage facilities where WTI crude is priced come in under the Brent crude price, and because there is simply not the...
What You Need to Know Today: U.S. weather is getting more attention this week as conditions vary greatly across the western, central, and eastern corn belts, with the different regions battling dryness and too much rain simultaneously. The ProFarmer Crop Tour began today in Indiana and Nebrask...
Key Takeaways: Argentina is on pace for a record corn crop and record exports in the current marketing year, with abundant supplies likely to keep the country highly competitive in global export markets. Argentina’s record exportable surplus is allowing it to offer highly competitive pri...
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.