Late-winter U.S. agriculture faces rapid swings: intermittent rain/snow, brisk post-frontal winds, and patchy frost from the Southeast to western valleys. Fieldwork windows are short and regional. Watch West Coast storm-track pulses, Gulf-front showers/storms, and Southern High Plains fire weather. Protect blooming crops and livestock; consult local NWS forecasts.
On-the-go soil sensors mounted on planters map soils in real time, calibrated with lab cores to guide variable-rate seeding, nitrogen, lime, and planter downforce. Fusing EC/EMI, vis–NIR, gamma, and compaction data improves input efficiency, yield stability, and sustainability, with payback in 1–3 seasons despite moisture, residue, and calibration challenges.
U.S. farm policy this week centers on securing funding, negotiating farm-nutrition packages, and clarifying environmental, water, and trade rules. Expect congressional oversight, draft text, USDA and EPA updates, and trade signals. Producers watch crop insurance, conservation enrollments, compliance guidance, biofuels incentives, and export data shaping risk management and planting decisions.
Without real-time data, the report frames late-August trading: month-end rebalancing, clustered releases, and Treasury supply. The week ahead centers on PCE inflation and ISM, alongside consumer confidence, durables, GDP revisions, and claims. Thin pre-holiday liquidity heightens moves; outcomes will steer yields, equities' factor leadership, credit spreads, and the dollar.
With US cash markets closed, the weekend was quiet as investors parsed Jackson Hole signals on the Fed’s path. The coming week is data-heavy: July PCE inflation and personal spending, Q2 GDP (second estimate), July durable goods, August Consumer Confidence, weekly jobless claims, and mid-week Treasury auctions. Key risks include the Fed’s reaction to inflation progress, labor-market cooling, hurricane-season energy volatility, and thin month-end liquidity. Market focus: whether data sustain a soft-landing. Hotter PCE could lift yields and the dollar; cooler prints support duration and risk assets. Watch curves, breakevens, the dollar, oil, and credit spreads.
U.S. PPI surged 0.9% in July, dampening hopes for a large Fed rate cut next month. Equities ended mixed, with tech giants offering support while small caps lagged. Treasury yields and the dollar rose, reflecting reduced dovish expectations. Asian markets slipped on the inflation news, though Japan gained on strong GDP. Commodities held steady. Intel jumped after reports of potential U.S. government investment. In crypto, XRP plunged 7% amid $1B in liquidations, Bitcoin fell below $117K, while Ethereum rose. Earnings remained a mixed bag, with Foxconn and Birkenstock beating estimates but Deere disappointing.
Stocks were flat as a hotter-than-expected PPI lifted Treasury yields and trimmed Fed-cut odds. The S&P 500 was little changed while the 10-year rose; the dollar firmed, oil gained and gold slipped. Over the next week, watch Retail Sales, Industrial Production, Housing Starts/Permits, FOMC minutes and Jobless Claims. Expect data-driven, range-bound equities; yields biased higher on strong prints; a supported USD; oil moving with demand/geopolitics; and gold sensitive to real-yield moves.