Soybeans Global soybean markets have been quiet these past few weeks with trading houses very cautious since any agreement between the U.S. and China could...

Changes in Commodity Analytics’ short-term technical indicators for grain futures should be carefully examined against long-term signals. Elsewhere,...

Milling Wheat The Black Sea market is very firm. Demand for Russian wheat is increasing every day, and we hear rumors that even Germany will import some du...

The cattle on feed inventory set a new record for the month of July at 11.3 million head. The 1 July total was down 300,00 head from the 1 June inventory b...

Subsidiarity Economic Cost The effort to harmonize rules across the EU helped spawn separatist political movements, including the largest one, Brexit. Now...

Treasury securities are one of the safest investments in times of economic chaos. Proof of that in the havoc over the present trade disputes may be the cur...

Markets were steady to slightly higher overnight, but the wheat markets took off higher again this morning. KC and Chicago traded gains of 10-15 cents most...

Changes in energy products’ recent price behavior point to potential trading opportunities. Similarly, the momentum indicators in grains show opportu...

U.S. Cattle on Feed Up 4 Percent. This is the highest July 1 inventory since the series began in 1996. Heifers and heifer calves accounted for 4.15 million...

Increased Sugarcane Prices a Double Blow for the Sugar Industry As this is an election year, the government must please farmers, the backbone of the Indian...

U.S. wheat fundamentals have been improving quickly over the past several months, although this wouldn’t be apparent by looking at prices. Some of th...

Cattle on Feed Tomorrow USDA will release its monthly Cattle on Feed report. Pre-report estimates from the industry peg the total number of cattle on feed...

The quietude of yesterday’s grain and soy futures markets continued in the overnight trading session. Volume and price movement were limited with not...

China Hit Worst Like the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) assessment on a global basis, the Asian Development Bank this week kept its curr...

Corn and soybeans continued their quiet rallies while wheat futures popped higher in a bullish, Russian-weather-fueled trading day. Cattle futures were cau...

In today’s USDA/FAS export sales report for the week ended 12 July, there were a few interesting items deserving of some comment. Among them were the...

Higher Week for U.S. Soy Exports Today’s USDA export sales report indicated higher sales last week for U.S. soybeans and soymeal, particularly for th...

Recent price activity for ag, energy, and soft commodities is examined in tabular and graphical format. The most important price analysis is distilled for...

Commodity Analytics shows the most recent data for grain export sales and shipments along with historic patterns. Current deviations from historic norms po...

After featuring active trade and higher prices on Monday and Tuesday, grain and soybean markets paused to catch their breath today. Volume was restrained,...

Trading Barbs WTO: There is a special Agriculture Committee meeting at the WTO next week, and the disparate views of its members are being previewed ahead...

Russian Grain Markets: 9-13 July 2018 The domestic grain market was influenced by different trends as new crop production started being traded along with t...

Ag, energy, and soft commodity futures’ technical patterns, including momentum and long-term indicators, are examined. Changes in the forward curve f...

Grains traded a quiet, mixed session while cattle futures moved sharply higher ahead of this week’s fundamental reports. Hog futures, of course, put...

The National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) reported on Monday that members crushed 159.2 million bushels of soybeans during June, a record for the...

Oilseeds Soymeal Inventory Declines as Crushers Dial Back Activity With the tariff on U.S. soybeans becoming effective on 6 July, feed demand has remained...

Grain and soy prices firmed overnight, in part because USDA dropped weekly condition ratings for corn and soybeans further than the trade expected. Another...

War Nears End Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said today that if President Trump continues with his “misguided and reckless re...

The fundamentals are kicking in and pulling CBOT products higher. Spotty growing conditions across the Midwest, including reports of both drought and drown...

It has been a tumultuous three months for grain and soy markets, which have been roiled by the Trump administration’s aggressive “take no priso...

Changes in Commodity Analytics’ short-term technical indicators for grain futures should be carefully examined against long-term signals. Elsewhere,...

Regional Updates MIDDLE EAST/MEDITERRANEAN COMMENTS Egypt’s government is said to be disappointed in the country’s wheat production as it repor...

Last week’s WASDE report made several major changes in USDA’s forecasts for the soybean sector. The most important ones were related to the 25...

There has been a great deal of conversation over the past several weeks about the possibility that U.S. corn and soybean yields might be much better than c...

Trade War Language Us versus them, me (America First) and we. Donald Trump called the EU a foe this past weekend. He says he meant it in terms of competito...

Markets traded most of the Sunday night session slightly lower before finishing steady in corn and soybeans but down 2-4 cents in wheat. However, corn and...

Soybeans Market Overview The first week of the official U.S.-China trade war was very calm. With crush margins currently poor (using Brazilian soybeans), t...

Changes in energy products’ recent price behavior point to potential trading opportunities. Similarly, the momentum indicators in grains show opportu...

Milling Wheat The Black Sea market was weaker during most of last week due to harvest pressure. However, the downtrend was reversed on Thursday after publi...

Food definitions are an emerging policy topic. The dairy industry doesn’t like the term soymilk, and the rice industry is concerned about the marketi...

Doing Good to Be Bad Four large food companies (Danone, Mars, Nestle and Unilever) have formed the Sustainable Food Policy Alliance, which will focus on pr...

Recent price activity for ag, energy, and soft commodities is examined in tabular and graphical format. The most important price analysis is distilled for...

Today is Friday the 13th, and the week ended accordingly. Soybeans were down again overnight and continued lower today. Corn joined soybeans, while wheat w...

Ethanol Policy Changes May Not Ease Pressure on Sugar Sector Immediately Changes in ethanol prices, including that of B-Heavy molasses as an input for maki...

Not frequently discussed in the turmoil about trade sanctions is the energy sector. The three countries with which the U.S. is currently engaged in trade d...

This week’s USDA WASDE and production estimates were not quite as bearish as they might have been for the following reasons: The corn and soybean yi...

While awaiting today’s WASDE, grains and soy markets traded a bit higher overnight as they tried to recover at least a small portion of yesterday&rsq...

Key Oilseed Highlights in USDA WASDE Report To say USDA made major changes to its supply and distribution forecasts for the soybean sector in today’s...

Trade like NATO U.S. Agricultural Trade Ambassador Gregg Doud says there is a difference between countries willing to make commitments and those actually m...

Thanks to USDA’s effort to project the effect of the Chinese tariffs on the U.S. soybean supply/demand for 2017/18 and 2018/19 as well as the expecte...

Ag, energy, and soft commodity futures’ technical patterns, including momentum and long-term indicators, are examined. Changes in the forward curve f...

The July WASDE came out bullish corn and wheat while bearish U.S. soybeans. World wheat ending stocks are forecast 4.6 percent less than last year while co...

Mexico Looks to Brazil Last March Mexico suspended all imports of meat and poultry from Brazil in response to the Carne Fraca meat inspection scandal. This...

Weekly export sales materials are undated with USDA's latest annual estimates for The United States - published 12 July 2018: Those U.S. export estimates a...

Total global 2018/19 oilseed production is down 1.4 million tons to 592.6 million with a 4.3-million-ton increase for soybean production offset by lower ra...

Soybean crush for 2018/19 is raised 45 million bushels to 2.045 billion reflecting an increase in projected soybean meal domestic disappearance and exports...

This month’s U.S. soybean supply and use projections for 2018/19 include lower supplies, lower exports, higher crush, and higher ending stocks. Begin...

According to USDA, this month’s 2018/19 U.S. corn outlook is for larger supplies, greater feed and residual use, increased exports, and lower ending...

Projected U.S. 2018/19 wheat supplies are raised 74 million bushels on increased beginning stocks and higher production. Forecast 2018/19 U.S. wheat produc...

The bell to start the next round of the escalating U.S. trade scuffle with China rang late last evening with news that the Trump administration is preparin...

Not “Impossible” Following the Trump-driven upheaval at last month’s G-7 meeting, no one was surprised when he did the same at this week&...

Russian Grain Markets: 2-6 July 2018 Following the usual seasonal trends, domestic grain prices decreased. However, they fell at a less dramatic rate than...

It was a day of red at the CBOT with corn and soybeans marking new contract lows and Chicago wheat breaking below key support. MGEX HRS wheat found support...

Changes in Commodity Analytics’ short-term technical indicators for grain futures should be carefully examined against long-term signals. Elsewhere,...

The Malaysian Palm Oil Board’s (MPOB’s) monthly report indicated that stocks rose in June following contra-seasonal decreases over the last fiv...

Oilseeds Soymeal Inventory Climbs Higher Ahead of Tariffs Continuing the trend that began in the second week of June, China’s crushing companies stea...

Overnight trading pushed corn and soybean prices mildly lower with more pronounced weakness in wheat. Good weather, high weekly crop condition ratings and...

Cash Distortions The U.S. International Trade Commission ruled today that olive imports from Europe are injuring domestic producers. Antidumping/countervai...

The thorniest political problem yet in completing a farm bill conference between the House and Senate this summer is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance...

Changes in energy products’ recent price behavior point to potential trading opportunities. Similarly, the momentum indicators in grains show opportu...

 Following are a few thought-provoking items: The corn, soybean and spring wheat crops are off to a great start despite weather that has not been ent...

Grain and oilseed markets were mixed/lower today with wheat futures crumbling, corn posting new contract lows, and soybeans unable to establish market dire...

Regional Updates MIDDLE EAST/MEDITERRANEAN COMMENTS Hoboob, the Syrian grain agency, has reportedly bought 200,000 MT of soft wheat at $195/MT CNF. The sal...

With the trade war officially underway, China is now assessing a 28 percent duty on imports of U.S. soybeans (the 25 percent retaliatory tariff plus the 3...

USDA will release its updated U.S. and world production estimates at 12 p.m. (EDT) Thursday. Those for U.S. corn and soybeans will be larger than in the pr...

Trade War Hyperbole Equity markets around the world traded higher today even as pundits and newspaper headlines wailed about the trade war. Beijing will ge...

The trade worries won’t go away. Even though markets ignored the imposition of tariffs last Friday, they were back to selling today in relatively lig...

Changes in energy products’ recent price behavior point to potential trading opportunities. Similarly, the momentum indicators in grains show opportu...

The House and Senate will appoint conferees to the farm bill conference committee this week and begin work on a compromise final version. Based on Congress...

Soybeans As has been widely reported, the U.S. imposed tariffs on specific Chinese imports on 6 July, and China reciprocated with retaliatory tariffs on so...

Milling Wheat The price of Russian and Ukrainian wheat for July/August shipment remained about unchanged last week. Offers for deferred positions are diffi...

As Congress returns from the 4th of July recess next week, the House will be in session for three weeks prior to the August break. However, the Senate is (...

U.S. agriculture dislikes being the tip of the spear in Donald Trump’s trade war fight, but the industry’s intermediaries in Washington are far...

Recent price activity for ag, energy, and soft commodities is examined in tabular and graphical format. The most important price analysis is distilled for...

U.S. soybean, corn and wheat markets finished the night session up 1-2 cents despite the U.S./China trade war becoming a reality overnight. However, the so...

Ban on Yellow Pea Imports Extended for Three Months India’s Ministry of Commerce has extended the ban on yellow pea imports, first implemented in lat...

Buying support is flooding into the soybean market an hour before the closing bell on a day that saw the official start of the U.S.-China trade war. Novemb...

Today is D-Day for the imposition of tariffs, and the U.S. implemented them on $34 billion worth of goods from China. That country then quickly followed su...

Changes in U.S. market share for global soyoil exports, along with those of soymeal, are analyzed. Results offer insight into the opportunities U.S. export...

Today’s post-holiday market was not the frenzied affair that sometimes follows the 4th of July. There was no overnight session (due to the holiday),...

Tariffs, but It’s NTBs Additional retaliatory tariffs were applied by Mexico today, and another round of U.S. tariffs will be applied to China at the...

Endangered Species Act Reform  On 2 July, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wyoming) introduced the Endangered S...

Ag, energy, and soft commodity futures’ technical patterns, including momentum and long-term indicators, are examined. Changes in the forward curve f...

Today is T-Day minus one, which is another way of saying that tomorrow, 6 July, is when the U.S. will impose 25 percent tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chi...

Grains and oilseed markets defied their traditional post-4th of July fireworks and simply did nothing today. Wheat was the exception, rising 20 cents, whil...

India Raises Minimum Support Price for Oilseeds and Other Crops The government of India (GOI)yesterday announced new higher minimum support prices (MSPs) f...

Please note that Ag Perspectives will not be published tomorrow in observance of the 4th of July holiday in the United States.  We will resume ou...

USDA will release its monthly WASDE report next week on 12 July. This will be the first to include the tariffs in effect on U.S. ag exports to Canada and M...

CME grain and soy markets closed early today for the U.S. holiday and will not reopen until 9:30 a.m. (EDT) Thursday. They are often quite volatile on the...

Changes in Commodity Analytics’ short-term technical indicators for grain futures should be carefully examined against long-term signals. Elsewhere,...

Aside from being the U.S. Independence Day holiday, the 4th of July is traditionally considered to be a key point in the development of spring-planted crop...

Agro-Energy Trade Remedy U.S. agriculture is being hurt by retaliation from other countries that have been targeted by the Trump administration’s tra...

Is China Preparing to Reduce Total Soybean Imports? USDA is currently forecasting China’s 2018/19 soybean imports at 103 MMT, up from 97 MMT in 2017/...

Regional Updates MIDDLE EAST/MEDITERRANEAN COMMENTS It is reported in Egypt that 45,000 MT of Russian wheat were seized from local storage due to infestati...

In January 1980, President Carter decided to punish Russia for invading Afghanistan. That action left U.S. grain companies holding sales on the books to Ru...

NAFTA: Mexico elected leftist Andrés Manuel López Obrador as president. He promises to make his country more self-sufficient in food, but his...

Markets were steady to slightly higher in the Sunday night session, but that steady pattern disappeared when the markets opened this morning with steep los...

Changes in energy products’ recent price behavior point to potential trading opportunities. Similarly, the momentum indicators in grains show opportu...

Soybeans Brazil After a few quiet weeks, demand from China moved again. Much improved gross crushing margins there (above $25/MT) prompted crushers to buy...

The Senate passed the farm bill late last Thursday night by a vote of 86-11 with bipartisan support. In fact, more Democrats than Republicans voted for it...

Milling Wheat The Black Sea market remained about unchanged last week after several consecutive weeks of declining prices. The Russian crop is estimated to...

Recent price activity for ag, energy, and soft commodities is examined in tabular and graphical format. The most important price analysis is distilled for...

EU leaders made great strides yesterday in their efforts to deal with a multitude of challenges, although few of the outcomes appear to be a panacea. Refug...

USDA released its quarterly Hogs and Pigs report yesterday, confirming herd expansion and containing a number of records. The total inventory of hogs and p...

Markets traded just slightly better overnight and found additional buying ahead of the USDA reports this morning. Wheat markets led the pre-report rally, t...

USDA released its revised acreage and 1 June quarterly stocks estimates at 12 p.m.(EDT) today. The acreage numbers for corn and spring wheat were slightly...

Falling Rupee and Higher Input Costs Make Agriculture a Tough Choice Two developments that the government of India (GOI) had not anticipated are higher cru...

It is the last full trading day before the sometimes-eventful June planting and quarterly stocks report. Based on the average trade estimates of acreage an...

Fixing Farm Supports The best defense is an offense, and China and India are demanding that the rich countries reduce their farm support payments. The dema...

6 July is the date when the U.S. will impose its first round of tariffs on imports from China and that country will retaliate with its own 25 percent tarif...

Biotech Company to Develop High-Protein Soybeans and Other Crops Amfora, a San Francisco-based biotech company, today announced it is going to employ a pat...

Ag, energy, and soft commodity futures’ technical patterns, including momentum and long-term indicators, are examined. Changes in the forward curve f...

U.S. corn exports deviation from historic patterns has implications for what exports will be in the rest of the marketing year. Analysis of unshipped corn...

Grains traded quietly today with few traders willing to take, or build upon, positions ahead of Friday’s reports. Livestock futures were higher on sh...

WPI's monthly publication features analyses of the U.S. grain industry, U.S. soybean marketing strategies, the U.S. meat industry, the global outlook for f...

Hogs and Pigs Report Coming  USDA will release its quarterly hogs and pigs inventory report after trading closes today. The inventory as of 1 June is...

After having announced them earlier, the Trump administration late Tuesday apparently decided not to impose special restrictions on Chinese investments in/...

Trade Fight Dustup Constituencies impacted by retaliatory tariffs imposed by other countries are starting to doubt the wisdom of Trump trade policy. The bu...

Changes in Commodity Analytics’ short-term technical indicators for grain futures should be carefully examined against long-term signals. Elsewhere,...

Russian Grain Markets: 18-22 June 2018 Domestic prices were influenced by the first offers of 2018 grain entering the market, mainly winter barley. However...

CBOT products bounced higher today as the Trump Administration confirmed it is backing away from new restrictions in investment and intellectual property p...

Oilseeds Soymeal Inventories Surge Significantly Across China Soymeal stocks rose significantly countrywide except for a drop of 6,900 MT (-8.36 percent) t...

Overnight trading was a quiet, low volume affair with only limited price changes for grains and the soy complex. As the day session progressed, however, wh...

It has been a busy policy day for agriculture with the EPA’s release of the proposed biofuel volumes for 2019 and the Senate taking up the farm bill...

Ag Subsidies Reform China and India are asking the WTO to immediately reduce the Amber Box agricultural subsidies that have been historically utilized by t...

As always, grain and soy markets along with those who trade in those commodities are looking ahead at several factors with the potential to move prices. Cu...

Grains markets were mostly steady/weaker today with soybeans and wheat falling once again and corn posting small gains. There is growing harvest pressure i...

Recent price activity for ag, energy, and soft commodities is examined in tabular and graphical format. The most important price analysis is distilled for...

Regional Updates MIDDLE EAST/MEDITERRANEAN COMMENTS At least 10 shipments of wheat (totaling 170,000 MT) have been delivered to Syria over the past 10 mont...

China Eliminates Animal Feed Tariffs for Five Countries The Chinese government announced today that it will eliminate tariffs on imports of soybeans, soyme...

Disparate Adjustments Trade uncertainty is hitting everyone. China will reportedly flush its state-owned enterprises with cash, which may not improve their...

USDA’s July estimate of U.S. hard red winter wheat production will likely be lower. We (and others) assume the Kansas harvested acreage number will b...

Markets were all lower overnight, and that pattern accelerated throughout today’s session with wheat, corn and soybeans all suffering big losses at t...

The 1 June cattle on feed (COF) inventory set a new June record at 11.6 million head. That was down slightly from the previous month, which was the second-...

Changes in Commodity Analytics’ short-term technical indicators for grain futures should be carefully examined against long-term signals. Elsewhere,...

Soybeans Brazil Brazil’s soybean market was quiet last week compared with after the U.S.-China trade war announcement when buyers became nervous and...

Milling Wheat The Black Sea market was weaker last week due to the approaching harvest and pressure on the futures markets in the EU and U.S. The weather i...

Battlefront Reporting Another day and more news on the trade war front. On the first day of new retaliatory tariffs by the EU on U.S. goods, German automak...

It was a peaceful night session with corn and wheat showing very little change. Meanwhile, soybeans were 7-8 cents higher with meal up $2.00-3.00. Markets...

Changes in energy products’ recent price behavior point to potential trading opportunities. Similarly, the momentum indicators in grains show opportu...

United States Cattle on Feed on June 1, 2018 was up 4 percent above year ago.  Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter in U.S. feedlots with capac...

This could be the day the EPA issues the Required Volume Obligations (RVOs) proposal for ethanol use in 2019 and biodiesel use in 2020. It would be subject...

Falling Soymeal Prices May Move Up if Exports Continue Soybean and soymeal prices moved lower last week but had some upward movement near its end, and they...

Markets have been obsessed with the failure of the U.S. and China to reach any sort of agreement regarding their trade dispute. In fact, it’s not eve...

Welcome to summer! Led by soybeans, which eased about 6 cents lower, trading during the overnight session found prices with a lower bias. The grains were m...

Trade War Endgame Starting the trade war was “easy” for Mr. Trump, sustaining it will become more difficult for domestic political reasons. Tha...

Cattle on Feed  Industry pre-report estimates for tomorrow’s Cattle on Feed report from USDA peg the total number of cattle on feed as of 1 June...

Falling Palm Oil Prices Reach Two-Year Low Palm oil prices are declining because of anemic demand and the market turmoil caused by the U.S.-China trade dis...

Grain and soy markets are almost totally consumed by trade disruption and the latest trade war threats voiced in Washington and Beijing. They note retaliat...

Recent price activity for ag, energy, and soft commodities is examined in tabular and graphical format. The most important price analysis is distilled for...

Markets paused today to reassess the probable outcomes of the U.S.-China trade war. Corn and wheat found some buying support while soybeans remained on the...

Commodity Analytics shows the most recent data for grain export sales and shipments along with historic patterns. Current deviations from historic norms po...

After trade war fears sank grain and soy futures yesterday, the overnight session opened cautiously. Prices edged a bit higher, but trading was tentative a...

Russian Grain Markets: 11-15 June 2018 Domestic grain prices were influenced by the near beginning of the new season. Although the formation of new prices...

Changes in Commodity Analytics’ short-term technical indicators for grain futures should be carefully examined against long-term signals. Elsewhere,...

The Closing Bell Wrap-Up has finally returned from traveling the past few weeks. And what an exciting few weeks it has been. Trump and China started playin...

Predictable Trade War After the Shanghai Composite Index plunged in value, the headlines say that the Chinese were “caught off guard” by Presid...

Policy Developments Will China Ultimately Retaliate? Coming on the heels of President Trump’s announcement last week confirming that his administrati...

Soybean and grain futures prices were lower to open the overnight session, and losses grew as trading progressed into the early morning. Understandably, so...

Yesterday President Trump asked the U.S. Trade Representative to identify $200 billion worth of Chinese goods for additional tariffs at a rate of 10 percen...

Changes in energy products’ recent price behavior point to potential trading opportunities. Similarly, the momentum indicators in grains show opportu...

Trade wars invariably involve government actions intended to impede, punish or prevent imports and exports of goods between two or more countries. The most...

Chinese Tariffs Impact on Upper Midwest Soybean Farmers Barring a settlement to the current trade dispute, China is expected to impose a 25 percent tariff...

Regional Updates MIDDLE EAST/MEDITERRANEAN COMMENTS As part of its budget control measures, Egypt has announced price increases of 35-40 percent for gasoli...

Illogical War One can imagine more sophisticated approaches to rebalancing trade concessions than the one undertaken by the Trump administration. The presi...

The imposition of trade tariffs on imports from China and that country’s corresponding retaliation against imports from the U.S. have had a profoundl...

As expected, the Federal Reserve Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) raised the federal funds rate last week by another 25 basis points to a target range...

Soybeans Impact of the U.S.-China Trade War Trading was slow in Brazil last week with an old-crop basis rally due to lack of farmer selling and news on the...

Corn and wheat opened lower Sunday with soybeans slightly higher. Everything was slightly lower by the time markets closed this morning, and that is how th...

Recent price activity for ag, energy, and soft commodities is examined in tabular and graphical format. The most important price analysis is distilled for...

Milling Wheat The Black Sea market had a weaker tone last week with the new crop harvest approaching and as export commitments for the first quarter of the...

Trade War Chapters Three and Four President Trump’s “easy to win” trade war is heating up, and U.S. farm groups are beginning to push bac...

As clients will recall, the House farm bill was sunk in May on a vote of 198-213. No Democrats voted for it due to the work requirement reforms pertaining...

Ag, energy, and soft commodity futures’ technical patterns, including momentum and long-term indicators, are examined. Changes in the forward curve f...

There probably isn’t much point in talking about fundamental issues surrounding the grain and oilseed markets as very little has changed in that rega...

Ethanol Production Up; Prices Nose-Dive  As noted in earlier reports, India’s sugar production in sugar year 2017/18 (November-October) is expec...

This week’s WASDE report from USDA was considered slightly bullish for prices, although that certainly wasn’t apparent by the market’s ac...

The rout continues. Grains and soy complex futures prices fell again overnight, and they continued to drop throughout the day session. Interestingly, corn...

Changes in energy products’ recent price behavior point to potential trading opportunities. Similarly, the momentum indicators in grains show opportu...

Roadblock Italy The new Italian government says it will not ratify the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada. It is a...

Farm Bill Livestock Provisions The Senate Agriculture Committee made short work of the 2018 Farm Bill markup yesterday. A total of 66 amendments (slightly...

China Sells Reserve Soybeans China’s National Grain Trade Center today announced the government sold 192,324 MT of reserve stock soybeans at auction...

These days it may seem as though grain markets have little else to consider beyond the U.S./Chinese trade dispute and its potential ramifications. We proba...

Wheat export sales data begins the new 2018/19 marketing year. Corn net sales of 936,400 MT for 2017/2018 were up 12 percent from the previous week and 2 p...

Russian Grain Markets: 4-8 June 2018 Domestic grain prices on the Russian market mostly grew. Meanwhile, export prices mainly dropped as 2018 production st...

FB: Boring Bipartisanship The Senate Agriculture Committee approved its farm bill proposal by a vote of 20-1. Only Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley v...

Grain and soy futures started out firmer on follow-through from yesterday’s post-report rally. However, that did not last long. The market’s at...

Recent price activity for ag, energy, and soft commodities is examined in tabular and graphical format. The most important price analysis is distilled for...

Policy Developments China Sets Stage for Sourcing New Feedstuffs When China’s central government closed out May with a public declaration in support...

The overnight market did not seem to know how to take the results of the Trump/Kim Jong Un meeting in Singapore. It ended with an announced agreement to de...

With the Senate Agriculture Committee’s markup of the farm bill tomorrow morning, a number of amendments are being prepared. This includes one from S...

The 2018/19 season-average price for soybean oil prices is projected at 29.5 to 33.5 cents per pound. The 2018/19 global oilseed supply and demand forecast...

Higher soybean meal domestic disappearance reflects stronger-than-expected use for the marketing year through April. Soybean meal exports are raised based...

U.S.-Canada Road Forward Donald Trump initially thought that U.S. agriculture was a problem for him since the sector was so paranoid about trade retaliatio...

USDA estimates this month that U.S. soybean supply and use projections for 2018/19 will include lower beginning stocks, slightly higher crush, and lower en...

June WASDEs typically provide few surprises and little market movement. Taken individually, not one of USDA’s new estimates and projections is very s...

USDA noted that export inspection data for the month of May implies continued robust global demand for U.S. corn, while old crop outstanding sales at this...

USDA estimates that World 2018/19 wheat supplies decrease this month by 1.2 million tons. Production declines in Russia, the EU, and Mexico did not fully o...

Ag, energy, and soft commodity futures’ technical patterns, including momentum and long-term indicators, are examined. Changes in the forward curve f...

Brazil’s Conab Raises Soybean Crop Estimate Conab, Brazil’s crop supply agency, today raised its estimate for that country’s 2018 soybean...

Regional Updates MIDDLE EAST/MEDITERRANEAN COMMENTS Syria and Russia are said to be developing a shipping route between Tartus, Syria and Sebastopol, Crime...

One month ago today, the EPA sent its proposed rule for the 2019 Required Volume Obligations (RVOs) for biofuel use to the Office of Management and Budget...

G6 Decision The G7 meeting did not go well - at least from everyone’s perspective except Donald Trump’s. It went exactly as he expected and int...

USDA will release its June WASDE (supply/demand) report tomorrow. Will there be any substantive surprises in tomorrow’s numbers? That is doubtful. It...

Markets were relatively quiet Sunday night, but corn and soybeans turned decidedly weaker today to finish with big losses. Funds started this week long eve...

Soybeans Brazil The Brazilian market was slow last week. As it has been all year, the real was one of the big factors. The currency has been showing a huge...

Changes in Commodity Analytics’ short-term technical indicators for grain futures should be carefully examined against long-term signals. Elsewhere,...

Milling Wheat The Black Sea market remained about unchanged last week. The focus is on the new crop conditions in Russia and Ukraine. The drought is persis...

Calling their bluff, President Donald Trump challenged his G7 partners to a trade agreement amongst the industrialist elite that would result in “no...

Fauxfundity EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström’s op-ed in the Wall Street Journal today contained oversight, invention and contradiction. S...

Senate Ag Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) and Ranking Minority Member Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan) briefed commodity groups and various other int...

Profit taking, good weather and zero technical support left the CBOT to trade lower today with only corn managing to close a few cents higher. With the ong...

Changes in energy products’ recent price behavior point to potential trading opportunities. Similarly, the momentum indicators in grains show opportu...

Wheat Procurement Exceeds Estimates; Open Market Prices Drop As of 4 June 2018, 34.724 MMT of wheat had been procured for 2018/19 by the Food Corporation o...

There has been market chatter this week that yields in parts of Oklahoma were better than expected, and that could mean USDA will increase hard red winter...

Overnight futures trading found prices around unchanged or slightly firmer except for wheat futures, which marched off to double-digit gains. There is more...

China to Begin Auctions of Soybeans from State Reserves China’s National Grain Trade Center today announced the government will begin its auctions of...

Meeting Like No Other There will be a G-7 meeting this weekend in Charlevoix, Canada that will be like no other. Donald Trump will square off against six o...

On 31 May, one day prior to implementation of the U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, the Economy Secretariat of Mexico announced that until those are resc...

Recent price activity for ag, energy, and soft commodities is examined in tabular and graphical format. The most important price analysis is distilled for...

It is hard to discuss grain and soy markets without referencing the Trump administration’s actions and pronouncements about trade. Exports, after all...

Continued fund selling beat-down row crop futures today while wheat managed modest gains. The weather is increasingly bearish U.S. corn and soybeans while...

Commodity Analytics shows the most recent data for grain export sales and shipments along with historic patterns. Current deviations from historic norms po...

Dissecting the Trade War Wrong Goal: During this past weekend’s bilateral negotiations, China offered to buy $70 billion worth of American farm, ener...

Russian Grain Markets: 28 May-1 June 2018 Domestic grain prices mainly grew as the volumes of stocks offered on the market were limited. Thus, despite the...

Ag, energy, and soft commodity futures’ technical patterns, including momentum and long-term indicators, are examined. Changes in the forward curve f...

Futures were higher overnight after the Wall Street Journal reported that China had agreed to purchase $70 billion of U.S. energy and agriculture products...

Policy Trends China Announces Tariff Reductions on Imported Consumer Goods On 31 May, China’s State Council announced a new round of tariff reduction...

In a follow-up to Monday’s beating, grain and soy prices were slightly lower in early overnight trade. However, they managed to recover and were a bi...

Gulf of the Atlantic The EU’s differences with Washington extend beyond trade policy and into fundamental political philosophy. Brussels is trying to...

With the Trump administration’s plan to reduce RIN prices expected to be released at any moment, it was timely that the Intercontinental Exchange (IC...

India Expected to Raise Vegoil Tariff Rates Undisclosed sources in India’s government have told Reuters that officials are considering a hike in the...

Agricultural futures traders are aware that futures prices for corn, wheat, soybeans and soy products tend to go down at a much faster rate than they rise...

Changes in Commodity Analytics’ short-term technical indicators for grain futures should be carefully examined against long-term signals. Elsewhere,...

Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa Regional Analysis Regional Updates MIDDLE EAST/MEDITERRANEAN COMMENTS Tunisia’s grain harvest for this year is...

All in Trade War The lack of a China-U.S. agreement on trade this past weekend in Beijing means that things will get worse before they get better. Each sid...

A number of lawmakers had been seeking an immediate waiver for E15 this summer, but the deadline for that has passed.  E15 cannot be sold from 1 June...

Markets continued their collapse today, following a lack of progress in the weekend trade talked between China and the U.S. The hardline Trump trade talk h...

The news from the weekend trade talks with China wasn’t good, which prompted a continuation of last week’s sell-off in wheat, corn, and soybean...

Changes in energy products’ recent price behavior point to potential trading opportunities. Similarly, the momentum indicators in grains show opportu...

Export Taxes Argentina’s difficult economic situation forced the Argentine peso to devaluate from 21 to 25.5 pesos/dollar in May. The Argentine gover...

Milling Wheat The Black Sea market was lower last week as the old-crop/new-crop inverse is eroding. The new-crop harvest is expected to start in 2 weeks in...

Recent price activity for ag, energy, and soft commodities is examined in tabular and graphical format. The most important price analysis is distilled for...

Details are emerging from the Senate about that Chamber’s deliberations over the 2018 farm bill. Though still described as a “moving target,&rd...

Battle Stations Whether it is a trade war or merely a trade dispute or trade discussion, there’s firing going on in both directions. The Trump Admini...

A week ago, WPI wrote about how farmers are optimistic about better markets for 2018 based on several at least somewhat positive factors. We should have wa...

Markets had an interesting finish to a mostly bearish holiday-shortened trading week. Prices were steady to firm overnight and started today’s sessio...

Corn and Soymeal Exports Could Keep Prices High Indian corn is competitive and finding markets in Vietnam and Bangladesh. Vietnam continues to import India...

This week’s Export Sales report from USDA offers insight into the grain market’s likely price pattern going forward. Based on historic export p...

Today’s news was dominated by trade matters that potentially could be important for grain and soy markets. President Trump declared that beginning to...

Macron Solution French President Emmanuel Macron correctly reacted to the U.S. imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminum by calling for an overhaul of th...

Livestock slaughter weights have been diverging this year with cattle trending down and hogs trending up. The heavier slaughter weights for hogs likely st...

Brazilian Exports Still Stalled After Trucker Strike Ends Some truckloads of soybeans and other commodities have begun to arrive at Brazilian processing pl...

If there is a common thread tying together the vast jungle of complex banking regulations that emerged from the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial market reform leg...

Light trading volume gave way to slightly higher wheat prices, afternoon weakness in corn and lower closes in soybeans. The trade is reevaluating market fu...

Ag, energy, and soft commodity futures’ technical patterns, including momentum and long-term indicators, are examined. Changes in the forward curve f...

Errors of Approach The Trump negotiating modus operandi is chaos, which worked in real estate transactions where he was the lone voice on his side of the t...

Russian Grain Markets: 21-25 May 2018 The average milling wheat export price remained stable at $212/MT FOB Black Sea, and purchase prices at seaports were...

Changes in Commodity Analytics’ short-term technical indicators for grain futures should be carefully examined against long-term signals. Elsewhere,...

Profit taking and surprisingly good crop condition ratings sparked a sell-off at the CBOT today. The overnight session featured losses of 3 cents for corn,...

Oilseeds Soymeal Inventory Holds Steady The feed market found new footing in the past week as demand from hog producers began picking up steam. Soymeal sal...

The overnight session that started Monday evening was the first opportunity to trade CME grain and soy futures since Friday. Wheat futures traded higher, b...

USDA released its monthly Cattle on Feed (COF) report last Friday. The total number of cattle in feedlots with capacity of more than 1,000 as of 1 May was...

Policy Turbulence Markets reacted today to the political uncertainty in Italy, but there are plenty of economic policy threats to go around. Some say that...

Changes in energy products’ recent price behavior point to potential trading opportunities. Similarly, the momentum indicators in grains show opportu...

Brazil Trucker Strike Hits Agriculture Hard By all accounts, the trucker strike in Brazil that lasted for eight days is now ending after the government off...

Early morning gains gave way to afternoon losses in the CBOT markets while livestock futures were steady/higher. The weather remains moderately bullish row...

Regional Updates MIDDLE EAST/MEDITERRANEAN COMMENTS The Syrian government expects that it will only be able to purchase about 1 MMT of local wheat in 2018...

The Memorial Day weekend at the end of May is widely considered to be the beginning of summer even though that season’s solstice does not occur for a...

Cattle on Feed Up 5 percent to totaled 11.6 million head on May 1, 2018. This is the second highest May 1 inventory since the series began in 1996. Placeme...

Monday, 28 May is a U.S. holiday, and the markets are closed that day. Please note that the next Ag Perspectives will be published on 29 May.   ...

Politicians Politicizing U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) has her state’s fishermen to protect from more innovative competitors, and so she is...

Another meeting was held at the White House yesterday regarding year-round approval for E15 as well as other reforms to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)...

Recent price activity for ag, energy, and soft commodities is examined in tabular and graphical format. The most important price analysis is distilled for...

Markets opened the Thursday evening session marginally softer after yesterday’s weakness. Corn and wheat pushing to new highs yesterday morning and t...

The North American summer growing season can be considered “officially” underway with the long Memorial Day weekend. The northern half of the c...

Sugar Prices Improve on GOI Intervention It seems that the government of India (GOI) has finally heeded the sugar industry’s demand and will create a...

Reading Trump, Again The Trump administration’s announcement of a Section 232 investigation into automobile imports as a national security threat onl...

The general grain and soy rally surged ahead overnight with soybeans and wheat reaching double-digit gains, while more timid corn futures managed to climb...

USDA will release its monthly Cattle on Feed report tomorrow. Pre-report estimates from the industry peg the total number of cattle on feed as of 1 May to...

Argentina May Freeze Soy Export Tax Rates Argentine Finance Minister Nicolas Dujovne has proposed freezing export tax rates for soybeans and soymeal/soyoil...

Changes in Commodity Analytics’ short-term technical indicators for grain futures should be carefully examined against long-term signals. Elsewhere,...

Grains and oilseeds started the morning sharply higher on weather worries and the improved trade outlook. As the day progressed, however, President Trump&r...

WPI's monthly publication features analyses of the U.S. grain industry, U.S. soybean marketing strategies, the U.S. biofuels industry, the global outlook f...

It can be argued that the most immediate impact on prices for major U.S. agricultural crops and products that the government can cause comes from actions a...

Changes in U.S. market share for global soyoil exports, along with those of soymeal, are analyzed. Results offer insight into the opportunities U.S. export...

Clobbering Europe EU Trade Minister Cecilia Malmström correctly expressed doubts that the latest offer to the Trump administration for avoiding its st...

Grain and soy futures traded both narrowly and slightly lower overnight in diminished volume. A flurry of sometimes contradictory statements from administr...

Changes in energy products’ recent price behavior point to potential trading opportunities. Similarly, the momentum indicators in grains show opportu...

Russian Grain Markets: 14-18 May 2018 Domestic grain prices on the Russian market mainly increased for last season’s production in all regions except...

It was a day of green at the CBOT/CME, with grains, oilseeds, and livestock contracts all rising. Trade resolutions (tentative though they may be) added to...

Oilseeds Soymeal Inventory Falls Again as Crushing Output Drops Because of declining downstream demand, domestic crushers cut utilization rates to below 50...

Yesterday’s active trade-driven session saw the huge unwinding of long soybean—short corn/wheat spreads, thanks to the agreement to suspend thr...

More Massive, Meaningful There are still problems interpreting the meaning of the China-U.S. trade truce announced this past weekend as well as questions o...

Changes in energy products’ recent price behavior point to potential trading opportunities. Similarly, the momentum indicators in grains show opportu...

Global Soybean Demand Continues to Outpace Demand for Other Major Crops USDA’s forecasts for global demand in 2018/19 indicate growth in that for soy...

Weather support and trade optimism boosted the grains markets today. The spread unwinding that hammered the wheat market yesterday was done, allowing the c...

The Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will be meeting again in June, and the markets are expecting a federal fund rate hike to 2...

Regional Updates MIDDLE EAST/MEDITERRANEAN COMMENTS Ramadan, the month of fasting, started last week in the region’s Muslim countries. It continues u...

We often talk about the stories that are told to grain and soy futures markets (and those who trade in them) by the underlying crop that each represents. E...

Immodest Measurements The China-U.S. truce and concentrated effort at achieving a trade agreement has brought optimism, but it should be a limited amount...

Soybeans Brazil The Brazilian soybean market fell steadily last week as the depreciating Brazilian real pressured prices. The currency reached 3.8 reals/US...

China removed the import duties on U.S. sorghum last week, and that gave the corn market a real lift. It has been importing U.S. sorghum since the flap ove...

Markets opened strong last night, and the soybean market extended that strength into big gains today. The story was the unexpectedly good news that the U.S...

Recent price activity for ag, energy, and soft commodities is examined in tabular and graphical format. The most important price analysis is distilled for...

Now that the farm bill failed in a vote on the House floor, all eyes are on the Senate as a chance to regain some momentum. Senate Agriculture Committee Ch...

Milling Wheat The cash market in the Black Sea remained about unchanged despite the U.S. and EU futures markets’ sharp rally. Crop conditions in Russ...

Good morning! CBOT ag products are sharply higher after President Trump’s morning tweet that China pledged to buy “massive amounts” of U...

The House leadership tried to power through final consideration of the farm bill today, but it failed due to a left-right coalition of all Democratic membe...

Farm Bill Hurdle As predicted by WPI early this week (see here), the farm bill was voted down in the House today (198 213). Despite its failure, surprises...

News overnight that China had dropped the import tariffs on U.S. sorghum ignited a nice rally in the corn market, which carried over to this morning and he...

Ag, energy, and soft commodity futures’ technical patterns, including momentum and long-term indicators, are examined. Changes in the forward curve f...

Higher Sugar Production Keeping Prices Low India’s sugar production could reach 31.5 MMT, according to the Indian Sugar Manufacturers Association (IS...

The National Weather Service issues its updated long-term weather forecasts once each month. Obviously, the May and June updates are important because they...

Grain and soy futures were firmer overnight with wheat the leader. Winter and spring wheat futures traders seemed inspired by wheat’s ability to avoi...

EU Companies on Firing Line EU members agreed yesterday to stand up to Donald Trump by invoking a 1996 statute that would prevent European companies from a...

Yesterday (16 May) the House passed the rule governing the floor debate on the farm bill by a vote of 229-185. Also covered under this rule are the Protect...

Everyone involved in the production, marketing, processing, exporting and consumption of soybean products around the world is waiting for news about the U...

Dry weather across Australia and Canada continues to support wheat prices while uncertainty about NAFTA/U.S.-China trade terms pulled corn and soybeans low...

Soy Export Sales Highlights Today’s USDA export sales report showed those sales for the week ending 10 May were lower for soybeans and soyoil but muc...

Changes in Commodity Analytics’ short-term technical indicators for grain futures should be carefully examined against long-term signals. Elsewhere,...

U.S. corn exports deviation from historic patterns has implications for what exports will be in the rest of the marketing year. Analysis of unshipped corn...

The lack of any news from the U.S./Chinese trade meeting was disconcerting. Mostly as a result of this, soybeans were unable to build on Tuesday’s la...

Bombs Beat Beans During the 1980s as the Cold War raged on, the Defense Department opined in the interagency process that U.S. agriculture’s attacks...

Russian Grain Markets: 7-11 May 2018 Rising minimal prices on the domestic market, driven in part by high demand from processors and growing prices for pro...

Changes in energy products’ recent price behavior point to potential trading opportunities. Similarly, the momentum indicators in grains show opportu...

Trade uncertainties continued to weigh on corn and soybeans while weak cash prices pull cattle futures lower. The news today is the lack of news from the o...

Oilseeds Soymeal Inventory Declines Following Month-Long Surge After four consecutive weeks of steady increases, the nationwide estimated soymeal inventory...

It was an erratic and somewhat volatile day of trade for grain and soy futures. Financial markets also experienced an uptick in volatility, and this may ha...

This is a busy week for the agricultural policy world. The administration is engaged in trade negotiations with China as well as NAFTA partners Mexico and...

  Recent price activity for ag, energy, and soft commodities is examined in tabular and graphical format. The most important price analysis is distill...

False Equivalence In asserting its right to be treated like a market economy, China claimed in Geneva this week that its industrial subsidies are no differ...

Questions about USDA’s WASDE Forecasts for Soybean Sector in 2018/19 Several of USDA’s 2018/19 forecasts for the U.S. and global soybean sector...

Grain markets are still searching for long-term direction while the livestock markets have found theirs: down. A combination of large supplies and seasonal...

Regional Updates MIDDLE EAST/MEDITERRANEAN COMMENTS Corn buyers in the Middle East/Africa (MEA) region are said to be benefiting from the low-cost U.S. sor...

Grain and soy markets trade on changing perceptions about inside (fundamental) and outside (macro) inputs, and seldom (if ever) do they all line up to push...

Most analysts considered last week’s USDA reports to be at least somewhat positive for prices. Ending stocks of wheat, corn and soybeans are now proj...

U.S.-China Transaction U.S. President Donald Trump is offering to resurrect Chinese smartphone maker ZTE in exchange for improved market access by American...

Corn and wheat markets were lower overnight with soybeans and soymeal trading higher, and that pattern didn’t change today. Soybean futures were very...

Ag, energy, and soft commodity futures’ technical patterns, including momentum and long-term indicators, are examined. Changes in the forward curve f...

Soybeans Brazil Soybean prices here continue to fall, especially for nearby positions, as the Chinese are well covered for May/June/July shipments. The lac...

Milling Wheat The Black Sea market is slightly weaker than last week. The weather in Ukraine and southern Russia may not be as good as a year ago, but a la...

The House Rules Committee has scheduled a hearing on Tuesday to set the general parameters of debate regarding the lower chamber’s farm bill and anot...

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Michael Conaway (R-Texas) has floor time scheduled for the farm bill next week. A quick WPI canvass of Hill staff and...

Changes in Commodity Analytics’ short-term technical indicators for grain futures should be carefully examined against long-term signals. Elsewhere,...

USDA’s May WASDE (supply/demand) contained more positive news in terms of price potential for MY 2018/19 than there has been over the past several ye...

Note: Starting 14 May, the tables currently displayed in “Closing Futures Prices” will instead appear in Market Commentary. WPI provides a summ...

Markets were all running for cover last night and today following what was considered a disappointing response to yesterday’s USDA reports. They actu...

India’s Vegetable Oil Demand and Imports Both Higher in 2017/18 India’s overall vegetable oil imports reached 15.573 MMT for 2017/18 (March-Apr...

Long War At this week’s general session of the WTO, Dennis Shea, USTR’s chief of mission in Geneva, expressed incredulity that China would spin...

Trading during the overnight session was quiet with moderate volume ahead of this morning’s WASDE with its projections for 2018/19. Prices were gener...

First Ever CN The Trump administration is showing that it plans to be aggressive on trade in unique ways. Previous administrations have imposed tariffs on...

The current trade dispute with China has been the only trade topic big enough to overshadow the state of the NAFTA renegotiations, and both are nearing cri...

Commodity Analytics shows the most recent data for grain export sales and shipments along with historic patterns. Current deviations from historic norms po...

Changes to U.S. 2017/18 supply/demand balances were small. The estimated U.S. wheat carryout was raised a net 6 million bushels. Exports were lowered 15 mi...

The May WASDE brought the market its typical volatility with corn trading both green and red numbers while soybeans jumped higher only to be brought lower...

Changes in energy products’ recent price behavior point to potential trading opportunities. Similarly, the momentum indicators in grains show opportu...

Global vegetable oil consumption is projected at 198.6 million tons, up 7.1 million led by increases for China, India, and Indonesia. Soybean oil productio...

May WASDE Soy Highlights  Today USDA released its May WASDE report, which includes its first forecasts for MY 2018/19. While almost certain to vary fr...

The U.S. soybean crush for 2018/19 is projected at 1,995 million bushels, up slightly from the revised 2017/18 forecast with higher soybean meal disappeara...

The 2018/19 outlook for U.S. soybeans is for higher supplies, crush, exports, and lower ending stocks compared to 2017/18. The soybean crop is projected at...

Total U.S. corn use in 2018/19 is forecast to decline modestly from a year ago on reductions in domestic use and exports. Food, seed, and industrial (FSI)...

The 2018/19 U.S. wheat crop is projected at 1,821 million bushels, up 5 percent from the prior year. The year-over-year increase is due to greater harveste...

Note: Starting 14 May, the tables currently displayed in “Closing Futures Prices” will instead appear in Market Commentary. Today’s closi...

Naturally Unnecessary Members of the U.S. Congress representing honey and maple syrup producers have added language to appropriations legislation that woul...

Grain and soy traders are in a waiting game for news on Chinese trade and NAFTA as well as the 10 May release of USDA’s WASDE. The May report may not...

Russian Grain Markets: 30 April-4 May 2018 As the week in review was a holiday period, prices did not significantly change, especially against the last wee...

Recent price activity for ag, energy, and soft commodities is examined in tabular and graphical format. The most important price analysis is distilled for...

Note: Starting 14 May, the tables currently displayed in “Closing Futures Prices” will instead appear in Market Commentary. Activity in the Chi...

Trading in Chicago was quiet ahead of tomorrow’s WASDE. The wheat markets, receiving favorable weather reports for the U.S. and Black Sea regions, we...

Macroeconomic Trends Just a War of Words? USDA’s March figures for U.S. agricultural exports to China, detailed in its 6 May data release, reflect a...

As most expected, President Trump announced the U.S. was withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear pact with Iran with the intention of resuming sanctions against...

U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Benjamin Cardin (D-Maryland) had criticism yesterday for both former President Barack Obama and curr...

Today is primary Tuesday for the Republican Senate races in three key states: West Virginia, Ohio and Indiana. Each has a contested Republican primary and...

VAT Reduction Causes Chinese Soybean Imports to Decline in April Chinese soybean imports fell to only 6.9 MMT last month, down 13.7 percent from April 2017...

Ag, energy, and soft commodity futures’ technical patterns, including momentum and long-term indicators, are examined. Changes in the forward curve f...

Note: Starting 14 May, the tables currently displayed in “Closing Futures Prices” will instead appear in Market Commentary. Today’s closi...

It was a day of cautiously trading the fundamentals ahead of the May WASDE. Corn and soybeans headed higher in modest volume while the wheat markets were m...

Regional Updates MIDDLE EAST/MEDITERRANEAN COMMENTS Egypt’s Ministry of Agriculture is making efforts to reduce the planting of major water-consuming...

This should be an especially interesting week for grain and soy markets. First and foremost is President Trump’s announcement regarding the status of...

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) met on 1-2 May and decided to leave interest rates unchanged. The June meeting, however, will likely be another st...

Asynchrony and Hypocrisy The WTO held a full membership meeting today at which Director General Roberto Azevêdo urged members to tackle systemic issu...

USDA will release the May WASDE on Thursday, which will include its first glimpse at the 2017/18 U.S. supply and demand estimates. It will presumably use t...

Changes in Commodity Analytics’ short-term technical indicators for grain futures should be carefully examined against long-term signals. Elsewhere,...

Markets started lower Sunday night, and that weakness accelerated into widespread selling across the wheat and soybean markets today. Some of the same bear...

Note: Starting 14 May, the tables contained within the “Closing Futures Prices” article will be moved to Market Commentary. Activity in the Chi...