The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will meet this month to discuss the next step in monetary policy. As it stands now, the Federal Fund Futures market is pricing in only a 7 percent chance of an increase in the federal funds rate above its current 5.25 to 5.50 percent target rate. This is down from a 22 percent expected chance in late August and from the day after its last meeting on 26 July.
Here are some of the key economic indicators leading into the September meeting. Nonfarm payrolls rose 187,000 in August while civilian employment, an alternative benchmark that includes small-business start-ups, increased 222,000. Despite this growth, there were downward revisions to June and July which reduced job growth b...
What You Need to Know Today: Crude oil prices extended their rally today, supported by several developments, including escalating Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabian oil infrastructure and growing concerns about supply disruptions. The Trump administration is reportedly preparing to remove 50 perc...
Key Takeaways: The agricultural trade surplus has become a sizable deficit: the balance swung from a $40.1 billion surplus in 2011 to a $40.7 billion deficit in 2025. Imports kept growing while exports lost momentum: between 2020 and 2025, agricultural imports increased 45 percent, compa...
USDA released its October Cattle on Feed report Friday, showing 11.4 million cattle in feedlots with capacity for 1,000 head or more, slightly below last year. September placements were the lowest for the month since records began in 1996, marking the third consecutive month of placements sett...
Total Red Meat & Poultry September 2026 total red meat and poultry stocks totaled 1.97 billion pounds, down 1.4 percent from August despite typically increasing 0.8 percent during the month, and were 1.5 percent below September 2025 levels. The decline pushed total inventories to a new five...
