Weather and Commodities, from Jim Sogi
Weather must play a factor in ag commodities. The weather has been pretty weird lately with weeks of rain in Alaska in January, snow in Hawaii (skiied 2 days last week), bad East Coast weather, drought in California. I am guessing this will affect the volatility of the ags and energy in the coming years. On a larger scale, weather can affect the economy of the entire world.
Jeff Watson writes:
The big drought played havoc with the grains and we had a monumental rally. Weather also affects shipping of grains by barge, and sometimes the Mississippi River is unnavigable due to a variety of weather conditions. The basis for corn and beans can easily double in a matter of days at the Port of New Orleans when that happens. Since the system is all interconnected, other ports will see an increase in the basis.