Dry bulk markets were quiet and mostly flat last week. Spot rates softened a little bit as vessel owners threw in the towel on waiting for improved demand. Most hopes for any recovery in rates now rests on the new U.S.-China trade deal. After the positive meeting between Presidents Xi and Trump on Thursday in South Korea, sentiment and rates did improve for parts of the dry-bulk sector. The grain-focused Panamax and Supramax markets in particular saw a little better support further out on the forward curve. Spot rates, however, remain weak with traders waiting to see improved cargo volumes from the U.S. Gulf and PNW before chasing the market. One of the big factors for grain traders is this week’s sudden change in the comp...
What You Need to Know Today: The latest EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook forecast 2027 U.S. WTI crude oil at $65.39/brl, up about $5 from the prior forecast. President Trump late Monday claimed the U.S. has swept the entire Strait of Hormuz (SOH) for sea mines. Iran’s security council said...
Key Takeaways: Soymeal with 44 percent protein generally contains more soybean hulls and fiber, while 48 percent soymeal is more extensively dehulled, resulting in higher protein concentration and lower fiber. CBOT soymeal futures were lowered from a 48 percent to 47.5 percent protein specific...
The trade deficit contracted slightly to $73.3 billion in June, a break from the volatility that has underscored international trade over the past year. Despite the small change, there was plenty of activity behind the scenes: imports fell $7.3 billion, led by crude oil, reflecting cheaper crud...
From WPI Consulting
Communicating importance of value-added products
Facing increasing pressure to quantify the value of export promotion efforts to investors, a U.S. industry organization retained WPI to develop a quantitative model that better communicated the importance of exports. The resulting model concluded that value-added meat exports contributed $0.45 cents per bushel to the price of corn, increasing support for that sector’s financial support of WPI’s client. In addition to serving the red meat industry with this type of analysis, WPI has generated similar deliverables for the U.S. soybean and poultry/egg industries.