Friday’s strength in CBOT and broader global ag commodity futures was simply a foreshadowing of the rallies that would develop on Monday. Heading into the weekend, markets were jittery on perceived weather risks, many of which turned out to be prescient. Over the weekend, parts of the U.S...
Trading Waste; Ottawa versus Manila; Politician’s Lag
Trading Waste Rich Westerners consumed so much plastic that even though landfills take much of it, their export of plastic waste now overwhelms Asia. Then Western policymakers gave yellow grease (used cooking oil) a very low carbon score for use as energy since it is a form of recycling. With h...
Water, Energy, and Competition
Agriculture is both water and energy. As a prime input to food production, agriculture has long been characterized as the exporting of water. Now it is increasingly the exporting of energy. U.S. ethanol exports rose 16 percent over the past two years and are up 30 percent for the first two mont...
European Market Analysis
Regional News Early-morning frosts were reported across Poland down to France as crops are reaching growth stages that are sensitive to cold. It’s too early to say whether the cold snap will dent yields, but the 2024 crop continues to face weather challenges. Tunisia pur...
Trading Waste; Ottawa versus Manila; Politician’s Lag
Trading Waste Rich Westerners consumed so much plastic that even though landfills take much of it, their export of plastic waste now overwhelms Asia. Then Western policymakers gave yellow grease (used cooking oil) a very low carbon score for use as energy since it is a form of recycling. With h...
Water, Energy, and Competition
Agriculture is both water and energy. As a prime input to food production, agriculture has long been characterized as the exporting of water. Now it is increasingly the exporting of energy. U.S. ethanol exports rose 16 percent over the past two years and are up 30 percent for the first two mont...
European Market Analysis
Regional News Early-morning frosts were reported across Poland down to France as crops are reaching growth stages that are sensitive to cold. It’s too early to say whether the cold snap will dent yields, but the 2024 crop continues to face weather challenges. Tunisia pur...
Mercosur Regional Analysis
Wheat Wheat from the 2024/25 campaign remains a topic of discussion in Argentina, with conflicting views regarding the area to be sown. The reality of the situation is that wheat production margins have been improving in recent weeks due to the improvements in futures prices, but also due...
WPI Crop Progress and Conditions App (Updated 22 April)
Update for 1 April 2024: 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 ob...
Mercosur Regional Analysis
Wheat Wheat from the 2024/25 campaign remains a topic of discussion in Argentina, with conflicting views regarding the area to be sown. The reality of the situation is that wheat production margins have been improving in recent weeks due to the improvements in futures prices, but also due...
Market Commentary: CBOT Gains to Close Week; Wheat Firms on Bullish News
The CBOT was mostly higher to end a mostly bearish week with wheat leading the way on several mildly bullish developments. Wheat futures saw price-supportive development in the IGC’s lower 2024/25 global ending stocks forecast, dryness in the U.S. Southern Plains, and smaller Russian 2024...
CFTC COT Report Analysis
Based on futures’ price action late last week and early this week, one would be expecting funds to have been net sellers in the major ag commodities, and that’s exactly what happened. Funds expanded their short soybean position by some 30,000 contracts, making it a new five-year low...
Cattle on Feed Report: Placements and Marketings Dropped Sharply
USDA released the monthly Cattle on Feed report today. Total inventory, placements and marketings all came in lower than the pre-report estimates, though total inventory was at the same volume or higher than last year for the seventh consecutive month. Placements came in well below the average...
Summary of Futures
May 24 Corn closed at $4.335/bushel, up $0.0675 from yesterday's close. Jul 24 Wheat closed at $5.6675/bushel, up $0.1375 from yesterday's close. May 24 Soybeans closed at $11.505/bushel, up $0.1625 from yesterday's close. Jul 24 Soymeal closed at $343.2/short ton, up $5.8 fro...