my live fuel clock showing Americans now have spent $70 billion more on filling up with gasoline since March 1 (vs same period a yr ago) and $44 billion more on diesel (same dates) for a total of ~$114.2 billion spent over this time.
BREAKING: The Federal Reserve officially hikes interest rates by 25 basis points, marking its first rate hike since July 2023.
This ends the longest Fed interest rate pause since 2008.
Soybeans are getting closer to harvest, but seed weight is still being determined. Learn how weather affects seed filling and dry down rates and what to watch as harvest approaches. Read more: https://t.co/Nlncl07UXn #kstateagronomy#soybean
For the U.S. farmer, $5 diesel couldn’t come at a worse time, as fall is when fuel use peaks by a mile. And while off-road diesel avoids highway taxes — generally knocking ~75¢–$1.00/gallon off retail — farm fuel moves right along with futures.
NY Harbor ULSD traded above $5/gallon this week, up $1/gallon since late July and more than $2.50/gallon from year-ago levels.
For a typical 2,000-acre Corn Belt operation, assuming ~6 gallons of diesel per acre across planting, spraying, harvest, tillage and trucking, a $2.50/gallon increase adds $30,000 to the annual fuel bill.
At 10,000 acres, that same move adds $150,000 to the fuel bill.
ADDS.
And I doubt much of the Farm Belt had a lot of fuel locked in ahead of this move. With prices already sitting at multi-year highs for months, most were probably waiting for a break that never came.
Plus, this is far from just a Farm Belt problem. The world runs on diesel, which makes this move matter well beyond harvest and agriculture.
#cmdtyView
@BarchartAg
The U.S. #corn balance sheet is tightening.
2026/27 stocks/use: 9.7%—a six-year low.
USDA farm price: $4.80/bu—a five-year high.
Export commitments are behind pace today. But the bigger story may be what USDA eventually has to reconcile in Ukraine and Brazil.
That could make this more than a one-year tightening story.
Weekender 🔗⤵️
oil futures open Sunday electronic trading jumping, WTI crude up $3/bbl to $103, RBOB (gasoline) futures up 5c/gal with ULSD (diesel) posting a 12c/gal gain on new refinery attacks in Russia