We are down to six and a part days of trade before Christmas, and from the looks of the action this morning, bulls appear determined to have Turkey for both Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. With the strength this morning, both corn and beans have swung back to within striking distance of the late November highs. Granted, moves can become exaggerated when you reach this time of year, but that certainly does not mean they do not count.
I have always found Australians to be a friendly and congenial lot, but apparently, if you push Canberra enough, you just might open a Can-a-Worms. As is well known, the Aussies and China have not been on good speaking terms ever since Australia suggested that there be some type of investigation regarding the initial handling of COVID-19 by Beijing. Since then, China has elected to imposed various tariffs and other trade restrictions on products from Down Under. Of course, they (China) have assured everyone there is no correlation between the two. Seeing that the relationship does not appear to be improving, Australia has now decided to plead their case with the World Trade Organization, WTO, and will very likely prevail. Unfortunately for Australian farmers who are finally looking at decent crops after years of drought, it could take years for the case to work through the system.
Bird flu continues to ravage Japan and has been discovered in nearly a quarter of the country. To date, around 3 million birds have been culled. Before the outbreak, it was estimated the country had a population of around 185 million laying hens and 138 million broilers. Of course, this flu has not been limited to Japan as there is a significant outbreak in South Korea and, as I wrote about last week, across Europe and Great Britain as well.
Equity markets have also been exhibiting a bit of Christmas/Year-end cheer. While the S&P 500 has not extended into higher highs yet this week, the expanding availability of Covid-19 vaccines is providing these markets with a booster shot as well. If we were to close right here for the year, we will have gained just over 14% and are an incredible 70% above the panic lows recorded back in March.
