The October WASDE dropped Thursday, October 12th, and it wasn’t certain that it would, given the threat of a government shutdown that was narrowly avoided in recent weeks. Chaos in Congress is just one of the breaking news stories causing anxiety throughout financial and commodity markets, especially after a renewed conflict in the Middle East thrust the geopolitical state of Central Asia and Eastern Europe back into the spotlight. Agricultural markets are not seeing outsized impacts for the news, but analysts are watching carefully as the stories continue to evolve.
DTN’s Lead Markets Analyst Todd Hultman joins us today to tackle the report and offer his thoughts and insights on the bigger picture. We’ll discuss expectations going into a report that is known for being much more reliable for yield predictions than earlier editions, and we’ll fit the latest figures into USDA’s outlook for global stocks and demand for corn, soybeans and wheat.
Plus, Todd will explore the latest in the livestock sector, dig into the latest on the unexpected, pre-report soybean rally, and think more about the weather effects still ahead. Then we’ll talk interest rates and employment and how they may affect ag markets going forward.