NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RFD-TV) — The markets will be without a major monthly report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). We are talking about the WASDE report that should have been released on Thursday, but is now on hold due to the ongoing government shutdown.
In a large memo posted to the WASDE section of the USDA’s website, users are greeted with a message stating that the report is now suspended until further notice. Other reports are also on hold, with nearly half of USDA’s workforce in limbo until Congress appropriates the necessary spending. This includes information on overnight grain sales.
And without overnight data, that means the markets will be in the dark on purchases, including those by China. One market analyst tells us he would not be surprised if China bought some US soybeans while the information flow is shut off.
“Since then, what we’ve seen is renewed buying coming into the soybean market, and we’ve seen it in both futures and future spreads,” Darin Newsom explained. “And so, the big question last week, as I did all my interviews last week, was: How would we be able to tell without government guidance if the world’s largest buyer had stepped back in? Which they tend to do when the U.S. government shuts down because there’s no one reporting on their activity.”
He says there have been signs since the government shut down last week.
“We tend to see some business, albeit securing secondary supplies,” Newsom said. “How would we be able to tell what comes in the futures and what comes in the future spreads?”
For now, the October WASDE report is up in the air. In previous shutdowns, USDA never released those WASDE reports that had been delayed.
While the agriculture industry hoped details on proposed “bridge” payments for farmers would be released this week, Ag Secretary Brook Rollins said the USDA is still working with the White House on the finer points.
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