There was a lot of interesting economic data released this week showing month over month changes that indicate the economy is picking back up – albeit raggedly. After three straight months of declines, the June consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.6 percent; that is the largest monthly increase since 2009. The increase was led by key food and fuel. Take out the impacts of food and energy, and the core inflation rate was 0.2 percent in June. The all food index was up 0.6 percent, driven mostly by meat and proteins. Beef prices led the way, up 4.8 percent. The CPI formula for the meat, poultry, fish and eggs category accounts for 1.836 percent of the CPI.
Much of the June retail price level was influenced by retailer...
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...
