High Court Sides with Roundup

In a ruling Thursday, the US Supreme Court sided with the maker of Roundup weedkiller. The decision is expected to block thousands of lawsuits alleging the product failed to warn people it could cause cancer. In a 7-2 decision, the court decided that the company cannot face failure-to-warn lawsuits since federal regulations have found the cancer link unlikely. The vast majority of US farmers use Roundup (brand name for Glyphosate) to kill the most common invasive weeds for all of our major crops. If the decision had turned to allow the lawsuits to move forward, US agriculture production would have been severely threatened, and our prices might have risen sharply. This ruling produced a sigh of relief for most US grain and oil seed farmers. Non-GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) farmers were not happy with the decision.

Severe June Heat Foreign to Europe

Heat and humidity records are falling across Europe this June. Temps have soared above 40 degrees Celsius (104 F) in many places with humidity adding to the misery. The record temps have moved north from Africa affecting Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the U.K. Last Wednesday was France’s hottest day ever. The conditions are made worse since many of the hot spots lack air conditioning. The heat is expected to ease in the coming days as Europeans await July and August, more typical hot weather months. According to WWA (World Weather Attribution) scientists, the ongoing severe heatwave in Europe would have been “virtually impossible” just a few decades ago, indicating the human driven climate change is “unequivocally to blame.”

Crop Rally Fizzles on Better Weather

Soybeans, wheat and corn moved up mid-week, leaving behind earlier weekly lows. Traders saw tightening US crop conditions while watching strong South American supplies. Rumors that China may return to buy US soybeans did not materialize. Corn, beans and especially wheat moved down on Friday due to relief from hot weather.

CME midday prices – Price per bushel: July Soybeans, $11.25; July Corn, $4.13; July Wheat, $5.77. Livestock per 100 pounds: August Cattle, $246.07; July Hogs, $93. Metals per troy ounce: August Gold, $4,093; July Silver, $59.10, July Copper per pound: $6.13. August Crude oil per barrel: ( WTI ) $69.30. September S&P futures traded at 7435.

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Walt Breitinger is a commodity futures broker in Indiana. He can be reached at 800-411-FUTURES (3888) or www.indianafutures.com.

Pinion Futures, LLC, a CFTC registered Introducing Broker and NFA Member (NFA #0284447,) is a fully owned subsidiary of Pinion Risk Management LLC. Information contained herein is believed to be reliable but cannot be guaranteed as to its accuracy or completeness. Futures and options trading involve substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors.