General Comments Wheat contracts started off this morning with a bounce higher, while the soybean complex and corn contracts were rather sedate for a major portion of the trading day. Soybeans became increasingly active in the last hour and corn made most of its move higher in the last five minutes. It is always interesting to see how many important trading decisions get made in the closing minutes of the day before an impending report; as though that report date just suddenly snuck up on the market. Instead of buying options several weeks prior, traders will repetitively race in and buy more expensive options at the last minute. Irrespective of whether trading takes place electronically or in a pit at the exchange, it seems that human...
As predicted, the Federal Reserve held rates steady at the last meeting before the midterm elections, likely in part because of the election (see WPI 19 October and 22 September). The decision comes at the tail end of a midterm election cycle that has been marked by the two parties campaigning...
Key Takeaways: WPI’s new EU rapeseed crushing margin models point to weaker processing returns over the next four months due to higher rapeseed procurement costs and weaker product values. Statistical forecasts call for German crushing margins to decline from €181/MT to €...
Key Takeaways: The tariff burden rose sharply in 2025 and 2026: the effective rate on imports in HTS Chapters 1–24 increased from 1.53 percent in 2024 to 6.11 percent in 2025, before averaging 5.68 percent in January–August 2026. Headline rates tell only part of the story: exemptio...
From WPI Consulting
Infrastructure investment due diligence
On behalf of a Canadian oilseed processer WPI's team provided market analysis, econometric modeling and financial due diligence in support of a $24 million-dollar investment in a Ukrainian crush plant. Consistent with WPI's findings, local production to supply the plant and the facility's output have expanded exponentially since the investment. WPI has conducted parallel work on behalf of U.S., South American and European clients, both private and public, in the agri-food space.