The Southern Oscillation Index value for January2011 was again strongly entrenched in positive phase (chart from the Australia Bureau of Met).
La Nina conditions to continue, with effects on prices of everything from corn to coal. Weather Trends map below shows current snapshot of Pacific cold SST anomalies.
Author: Michael Ferrari, PhD
VP, Applied Technology & Research
If the recent widespread flooding across Queensland wasn’t enough, Cyclone Yasi just made landfall. This impressive system will only add to the market uncertainty, particularly in the commodity sector.
The sugar sector has wasted no time in reacting; we are also expecting additional strength in coal. The March ICE [...]
We are seeing continued strength across the grain/oilseed sector with soybeans leading the way, crossing and staying above the14 mark. All the primary sectors here trading well above the 200 day moving average, and with supply concerns mounting, the market seems to be locked in this bullish channel, which is likely to remain in place [...]
Brent crude crosses $100 today and WTI futures above $92. These are the highest trading levels in Brent in over two years. Fears over further MENA instability obviously serving as the catalyst this week….we’ll see how long this continues.
In a related note, many hedge funds were blindsided by this move as last week there was [...]
Author: Michael Ferrari, PhD
VP, Applied Technology & Research
In the weather and climate community, 2010 will be remembered as a year where the strong La Nina pattern exerted a significant influence on global agricultural production, with weather extremes hitting key commercial producing regions across a number of sectors. The Southern Oscillation index (SOI), a measure of [...]
Following our post (Wheat Weather) the other day regarding the devastating flooding across eastern Australia, we encourage readers to follow the Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) to monitor conditions in the region through January. The map below depicts the Dec2010 SPI, and it will be worth noting the changes when the Jan2011 index is released.
( map [...]
