Quote from steenbab:
Hello All,
I appreciate the thread. Perhaps I can offer a small example.
Hot weather in the midwest is threatening the corn crop. The U.S. is the world's largest exporter of corn, making up 70% of the world's exports.
At the same time that we might have a diminished corn crop, the U.S. demand for ethanol has resulted in a situation in which--for the first time--more corn is being diverted for use as fuel than as food.
In the futures markets, corn is up around 20% since May, having recently broken to multi-month highs.
For the first time, we're seeing farmers forego planting of other food crops in order to grow the sugar, corn, and other crops needed for ethanol.
How will this affect inflation? Interest rates? Fed policy?
How will this affect countries dependent upon the U.S. for their foodstuffs?
How will this affect our own agricultural markets?
IMHO, these are the complexities that underlie new market trends.
Brett Steenbarger