It seems like it has been an eternity since the USDA last issued a production and supply and demand estimate. The fact is that it has been an eternity. The October government shutdown resulted in the cancelation of that month's reports. The timing of the shutdown was bad for the industry for two primary reasons:
It occurred in the midst of the corn and soybean harvest period when the market was looking for yield confirmation. It occurred during a growing season that saw a very wide range of weather conditions that also meant a very broad range of yield results.
The market has been expecting and trading much better corn yields and somewhat better soybean yields for the past six weeks than were reflected in the September report. The...
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...
