Russian Grain Markets: 15–19 January 2024 For the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, President Putin mentioned grains grown and harves...

The CBOT finished higher for the day with traders increasingly engaging in bottom-picking and hopeful that last week saw the grain market develop its near-...

Crop land values appreciated significantly during the long tail of COVID impacts. It was predictable. Commodity prices were increasing. Inflation was high,...

Mar 24 Corn closed at $4.465/bushel, up $0.0075 from yesterday's close.  Mar 24 Wheat closed at $5.965/bushel, up $0 from yesterday's close.  Mar...

People In, Pork Out Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that California could stop pork from Iowa from coming into the state if it was not prod...

Analysts are intensely studying the changes in trade flows and their composition following the reversal from free trade by the Trump Administration, the co...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Egypt’s wheat imports for 2023/24 are expected to decrease and whea...

The CBOT was mostly lower overnight with grain markets unable to find their footing after two bearish weeks and a weekend of favorable weather for Brazil a...

Mar 24 Corn closed at $4.4575/bushel, up $0.0025 from yesterday's close.  Mar 24 Wheat closed at $5.965/bushel, up $0.0325 from yesterday's close.&nbs...

The Environmental Defense Fund announced that Kansas faces more severe weather in the coming decades due to climate change, and it will have significant ne...

2022/23 Crop Export Update The historic drought that impacted Argentina one year ago resulted in a drastic 38 percent decline in grain production during th...

The International Trade Commission (ITC) announced last week it is upholding its decision that U.S fertilizer companies were harmed by Moroccan and Russian...

Regional News  Wheat shipments through the Suez Canal have fallen 40 percent in the first half of January, due to the ongoing Houthi rebel attacks in...

U.S. Cattle on Feed totaled 11.9 million head on January 1, 2024 (For feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head) Placements in feedlots during December...

Thursday saw the start of a “dead cat bounce” for many oversold CBOT futures contracts, and that trend continued Friday. Corn and wheat futures...

The attached PDF offers graphical depiction and seasonal analysis of managed money and commercial traders' net position in key agricultural commodity marke...

USDA released the monthly Cattle on Feed report today; it was right in line with analysts’ pre-report consensus expectations making it neutral and an...

Mar 24 Corn closed at $4.455/bushel, up $0.015 from yesterday's close.  Mar 24 Wheat closed at $5.9325/bushel, up $0.0775 from yesterday's close. ...

Tradition Tackles Progress At least twelve EU member states are trying to block the introduction of lab-grown meat. The pretense is that such a product &ld...

The Market Pressured by improved weather in Brazil, favorable crop conditions in Argentina, and a softening Chinese market, March soybeans declined 0.89 pe...

Export Sales and Shipments for January 5-11, 2024 Wheat:  Net sales of 707,600 metric tons (MT) for 2023/2024 were up noticeably from the previous wee...

After hitting new contract lows in corn and wheat again today, there was a turnaround led by wheat. However, without any change in the underlying fundament...

USDA will release its Cattle on Feed report tomorrow; the consensus pre-report analysts’ estimate is for the inventory of cattle on feed to be 102 pe...

Mar 24 Corn closed at $4.44/bushel, up $0.0175 from yesterday's close.  Mar 24 Wheat closed at $5.855/bushel, up $0.03 from yesterday's close.  M...

Not Magnanimous An AgriPulse poll of geographically dispersed farmers from across the U.S. with at least $100,000 in gross annual income reflects some gree...

The CBOT was mostly lower at mid-week with traders still reacting to the bearish implications of the January WASDE. For bulls, matters seem to keep getting...

A record 1.2 million electric vehicles (EVs) were sold in the U.S. in 2023. EVs hit a record 8.1 percent market share in the fourth quarter. However, also...

Mar 24 Corn closed at $4.4225/bushel, down $0.0125 from yesterday's close.  Mar 24 Wheat closed at $5.825/bushel, up $0.005 from yesterday's close.&nb...

China’s National Bureau of Statistics reports that pork production increased 4.6 percent in 2023 to 57.94 MMT. This makes the fourth consecutive year...

Russian Grain Markets: 8–12 January 2024 After the January holidays, the Russian market is being revised step-by-step. The volume of trade is not so...

Mar 24 Corn closed at $4.435/bushel, down $0.035 from yesterday's close.  Mar 24 Wheat closed at $5.82/bushel, down $0.14 from yesterday's close. ...

The January WASDE and Grains Stocks reports are now past, but their impacts continued to drive CBOT price action to start the holiday-shortened week. Corn...

Budget Extension Over the weekend – doesn’t it seem budget deals are always struck on weekends – Congressional leaders came to an agreeme...

Transatlantic Commonality Politico’s senior foreign correspondent Nahal Toosi noted that ambassadors in Washington are warning that U.S. power and in...

Agriculture ministers from five EU countries (Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia) are asking the European Commission to come up with a soluti...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Egypt reports that Suez Canal fees have dropped by 40 percent so far in 2...

USDA reduced the 2023/24 season-average U.S. soybean price by 15 cents to $12.75 per bushel. The soybean meal price is projected at $380 per short ton, dow...

USDA reduced the 2023/24 season-average U.S. farm price of corn by 5 cents to $4.80 per bushel. Corn production is estimated at a record 15.3 billion bushe...

USDA reduced the 2023/24 season-average U.S. farm price of wheat by $0.10 lower to $7.20 per bushel. The global wheat outlook for 2023/24 is for larger end...

The CBOT ended the week with fireworks as the Grain Stocks, WASDE, and winter wheat seedings reports all contained significant surprises. The surprises wer...

Please note that Monday, 15 January is a U.S. federal holiday in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. As a result, both the markets and World Perspectives, Inc...

The attached PDF offers graphical depiction and seasonal analysis of managed money and commercial traders' net position in key agricultural commodity marke...

The Iowa Caucus for the Republican primary is Monday 15 January. Following is a look at the process, structure, and the candidates’ ag platforms.&nbs...

The Market Today broke a record. For the first time in nine years, soybean futures did not rise on the release of the January WASDE report. With the except...

Mar 24 Corn closed at $4.47/bushel, down $0.1075 from yesterday's close.  Mar 24 Wheat closed at $5.96/bushel, down $0.0775 from yesterday's close.  Mar 24...

The market is steady but leaning bearish ahead of tomorrow’s USDA January WASDE report. The agency will put its final touches on numbers for 2023 and...

Cold and snow is impacting cattle markets this week; slowing feedlot placements and moving heavier cattle to pasture rather than the feedlot. Feeders&rsquo...

Greens Whiff Farmers in Europe are upset with their policymakers. The French farmers union has just announced it backs the protests being made by German fa...

Mar 24 Corn closed at $4.5775/bushel, down $0.0175 from yesterday's close.  Mar 24 Wheat closed at $6.0375/bushel, down $0.07 from yesterday's close.&...

Export Sales and Shipments for December 29, 2023 – January 4, 2024. Wheat:  Net sales of 128,100 metric tons (MT) for 2023/2024 were down 3 perc...

The CBOT turned lower with just two days before the January WASDE and Grain Stocks report after export prospects dimed following more terrorist attacks in...

Mar 24 Corn closed at $4.595/bushel, up $0.0025 from yesterday's close.  Mar 24 Wheat closed at $6.1075/bushel, up $0.0075 from yesterday's close.&nbs...

Quackery Has its Limits  The USMCA panel opining on the Mexican ban on GMO corn has decided it will not accept comments from Canadian NGO groups wanti...

Import dependence for food rankles most politicians since they have persistently fed a nationalistic feedback loop on the issue to their constituents. No o...

Russian Grain Markets: 1–5 January 2024 Most of Russia’s regions have been celebrating the New Year holidays and the the Russian Orthodox Chris...

The CBOT posted a “Turnaround Tuesday” with grain and oilseed markets finding their way to higher ground after two weeks of steadily lower trad...

Chips War China complained that Washington’s export restrictions on semiconductors and on Chinese telecommunications companies violate WTO principles...

Two recent economic reports have generated attention: the November balance of payments trade deficit and the December payroll report. There are tea leaves...

USDA is leading a trade mission to India, noting that it is 1.4 billion people or 18 percent of the global population but accounts for less than one percen...

Mar 24 Corn closed at $4.5925/bushel, up $0.0425 from yesterday's close.  Mar 24 Wheat closed at $6.1/bushel, up $0.1375 from yesterday's close. ...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Qatar has contributed $20 million to the “Grain from Ukraine”...

The CBOT followed its bearish drumbeat lower with corn, wheat, soybeans, and soymeal all logging steep declines for the day. Corn and Paris wheat futures s...

Bright Belgian Light According to Euractiv, Belgian Federal Minister David Clarinval said he would emphasize food sovereignty as he assumes the Presidency...

Grain producers saw the value of their output fall in 2023 and the best they can hope for in 2024 is to stem the bleeding. Meanwhile, Europeans are frustra...

Mar 24 Corn closed at $4.55/bushel, down $0.0575 from yesterday's close.  Mar 24 Wheat closed at $5.9625/bushel, down $0.1975 from yesterday's close.&...

As WPI has reported, the continuing resolution (CR) passed in November 2023 gave Congress two deadlines to pass the various 12 appropriations bills –...

Regional News  Europe has faced heavy rains and dramatic storms in recent weeks that are causing profound concerns for winter crops. While the rain ha...

Policy and Macroeconomic Update There is discomfort among farmers in the Argentine countryside. The newly inaugurated Milei administration promised during...

The CBOT saw corn and soybeans break lower overnight and extend that weakness in the day session with poor export sales data and favorable South American r...

Export Sales and Shipments for December 22-28, 2023   Wheat:  Net sales of 131,600 metric tons (MT) for 2023/2024 were down 52 percent from...

The Market This was the third week in a row for March soybeans taking a loss and prices are down at six-month lows. Ample rains in central Brazil are bring...

The attached PDF offers graphical depiction and seasonal analysis of managed money and commercial traders' net position in key agricultural commodity marke...

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed into law a new pesticide registration statute that will benefit the approval of generic pesticides. Th...

PepsiCo, Carrefour and GI’s A major story this week is major French retailer Carrefour saying it is dropping PepsiCo products because its prices are...

Mar 24 Corn closed at $4.6075/bushel, down $0.0575 from yesterday's close.  Mar 24 Wheat closed at $6.16/bushel, up $0.025 from yesterday's close.&nbs...

There was higher volume in SRW, HRW and lean hogs but overall volumes remained modest, and the export wire is quiet. The latter perhaps influenced by a str...

Russian Agriculture Enigma Among the many elections this year is Russia’s during 15-17 March. Vladimir Putin will be overwhelmingly elected. He has b...

China is in its holiday season; first was the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, on 22 December. Next is the Lunar New Year which begins on 10...

Mar 24 Corn closed at $4.665/bushel, up $0.0125 from yesterday's close.  Mar 24 Wheat closed at $6.135/bushel, up $0.1325 from yesterday's close. ...

Note, the following is an attempt to summarize 2023’s major developments in ag markets and U.S. and world politics while injecting humor. Obviously,...

The CBOT saw pressure for the second straight day with a four-day rebound in the U.S. dollar working against grain values. While the rising greenback press...

Trade is Dead, So is Ag The U.S. agricultural trade balance has reversed, going from positive to negative. Industry leaders are arguing that the solution i...

Most reviews of the year 2023 characterize the period as tumultuous, largely due to the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, coups in Africa driven by gold...

Mar 24 Corn closed at $4.6525/bushel, up $0.015 from yesterday's close.  Mar 24 Wheat closed at $6.0025/bushel, down $0.065 from yesterday's close.&nb...

Russian Grain Markets: 25–29 December 2023 As of late December, the Russian Ministry of Agriculture forecasts grain production at 142 MMT. A week ago...

The CBOT started the holiday-shortened trading week with an old fashion hard open on Tuesday morning with no overnight trade to guide initial investment. T...

Mar 24 Corn closed at $4.6375/bushel, down $0.075 from yesterday's close.  Mar 24 Wheat closed at $6.0675/bushel, down $0.2125 from yesterday's close...

2024 Food Industry Politico says the Biden Administration will crank up its anti-big business efforts for this election year. A long list of anti-trust inv...

There are several pundits predicting this is the year that evidences the rise in consumption of plant-based proteins and the end of meat from animals. Thes...

It is 2024, and the upcoming Presidential and Congressional elections will start to cast a shadow over policy debates and timelines in Washington. For cont...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION BRICS membership increased on 1 January 2024 to include Egypt, Iran, Saud...

Export Sales and Shipments for December 15-21, 2023. Wheat:  Net sales of 276,400 metric tons (MT) for 2023/2024 were down 14 percent from the previou...

Mar 24 Corn closed at $4.7125/bushel, down $0.03 from yesterday's close.  Mar 24 Wheat closed at $6.28/bushel, down $0.035 from yesterday's close.&nbs...

The attached PDF offers graphical depiction and seasonal analysis of managed money and commercial traders' net position in key agricultural commodity marke...

The WPI team extends our best wishes to you and your families for a healthy and happy New Year. Thank you for your faithful readership, we are looking forw...

The CBOT was mostly lower to close the 2023 calendar year, a fitting end to a year that saw deeply bearish price action across the grain markets. Since the...

Except for wheat, the CBOT and CME’s major ag markets were uniformly lower in a relatively unexciting trading session Thursday. Wheat managed to esca...

Mar 24 Corn closed at $4.7425/bushel, down $0.0225 from yesterday's close.  Mar 24 Wheat closed at $6.315/bushel, up $0.085 from yesterday's close.&nb...

Last Friday USDA released its quarterly Hogs and Pigs report for the September through November quarter. The total inventory of hogs and pigs on 1 December...

Mar 24 Corn closed at $4.765/bushel, down $0.0375 from yesterday's close.  Mar 24 Wheat closed at $6.23/bushel, down $0.1325 from yesterday's close.&n...

Wheat had a modest reversal from yesterday’s jump higher on profit-taking, soybeans and feeder cattle continued adding value, while soyoil and pigs c...

Russian Grain Markets: 18–22 December 2023 As of mid-December, the Russian Statistics Agency reports 142.6 MMT of grains harvested in standard weight...

Mar 24 Corn closed at $4.8025/bushel, up $0.0725 from yesterday's close.  Mar 24 Wheat closed at $6.3625/bushel, up $0.2 from yesterday's close.  Mar 24 So...

Traders must have gotten some cash in their Christmas stockings because there was a slight buying mood in the market today. Except for bean oil and pork, m...

U.S. Cattle on Feed was up 3 percent from year ago on Dec 1 to total 12.0 million head in feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head. Placements in feedl...

Mar 24 Corn closed at $4.73/bushel, up $0.005 from yesterday's close.  Mar 24 Wheat closed at $6.1625/bushel, up $0.0375 from yesterday's close. ...

Trading volumes today were down 40-50 percent in some commodities, but the bottom line was some exiting and losses from the week before an extended holiday...

It was a big day for livestock market reports from USDA with the monthly Cattle on Feed report and the quarterly Hogs and Pigs report, both at the closing...

President Biden sided with the steel workers union and will put Nippon Steel’s purchase of US Steel through the “serious scrutiny” of the...

The Market  Oilseed markets have seen more pressure than support this week due to improved weather forecasts for Brazil and increasingly challenging g...

Export Sales and Shipments for December 8-14, 2023. Wheat:  Net sales of 322,700 metric tons (MT) for 2023/2024 were down 78 percent from the previous...

As expected, commodity futures traded on generally lighter volumes and will continue that way until a new year of trading starts in January. Corn, wheat, a...

Mar 24 Corn closed at $4.725/bushel, up $0.0275 from yesterday's close.  Mar 24 Wheat closed at $6.125/bushel, up $0.025 from yesterday's close. ...

USDA will release its Cattle on Feed report tomorrow, along with the December quarterly Hogs and Pigs report.   The cattle markets are anticipati...

Bitter Problem The U.S. sugar program is an protectionist abomination emanating from a political deal in the 1981 farm bill. Unlike other crops that are su...

The CBOT was almost uniformly lower on Wednesday with pressure building from increasingly challenging shipping logistics around the world. The situation in...

232 Confusion WTO dispute settlement rulings are arcane, highly legalistic, but sometimes contradictory to the layman’s eye. The latest case is a rul...

Russian Grain Markets: 11–15 December 2023 Russian agriculture has had a difficult year with global sanctions in place creating problems with inputs...

Conflicting supply and demand factors resulted in mixed trade at the CBOT once again, but the surprise of the day was KCBT wheat’s 2.2 percent rally...

Mar 24 Corn closed at $4.7275/bushel, down $0.0425 from yesterday's close.  Mar 24 Wheat closed at $6.2275/bushel, up $0.0575 from yesterday's close.&...

As we reported last week, farmers’ cost of production has been at record levels six consecutive years; that is a good context for the EPA’s lat...

According to the FAO agricultural trade index, Africa has experienced the relatively largest jump in the past decade, followed by North and South America...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Food price inflation rates, according to the World Bank, show Lebanon at...

The CBOT was mixed to start the last full trading week of 2023 with the soy complex rallying on the heels of last week’s NOPA crush report. The repor...

Mar 24 Corn closed at $4.77/bushel, down $0.06 from yesterday's close.  Mar 24 Wheat closed at $6.17/bushel, down $0.1225 from yesterday's close. ...

Policy Updates Argentina’s new government led by Javier Milei has begun and several new measures have been implemented. Despite being unpopular and r...

Farm Bill Little to no progress has been made on the farm bill, souring hopes of finishing in early 2024. The fault line remains funding. Typically, over t...

Regional News  In its latest crop monitoring bulletin, the EU Commission’s MARS division noted few to no negative impacts on winter crops from t...

Not Walking the Talk The European Environmental Agency has assessed the EU’s commitments and concludes that the goal of reducing emissions 55 percent...

The government of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and now the social justice warrior class in the U.S. are framing the impendin...

Trade at the CBOT was mostly a low-volume affair heading into the weekend and there was a growing sense that, except for wheat and cattle, most of the week...

The attached PDF offers graphical depiction and seasonal analysis of managed money and commercial traders' net position in key agricultural commodity marke...