General Comments Cliché though it may be, the word that best describes today's grain and soy futures market is quiet. Trading ranges are small with only 4 cents for December corn, and volume is light. There is nothing new to spark trade, and the things on which markets have been trading have gotten old and shopworn.There is an old futures market truism to the effect that small crops create big futures volume, and that has certainly been demonstrated in recent years. The corollary is that big crops dampen futures volume, and we are beginning to see signs of that now. These old truisms have been given added relevance by the increased participation of non-commercial traders, especially since the mid-2000s. Those non-commercials in t...
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.