Atten Babler Corn & Soybeans FX Indexes – May…
Corn FX Indices:
The Atten Babler Commodities Corn Foreign Exchange (FX) Indexes remained at or near record high levels during Apr ’15. The USD/Corn Importer FX Index increased to a new record high, however the USD/Corn Exporter FX Index and USD/Domestic Corn Importer FX Index fell by 1.7 points and 1.0 points, respectively throughout the month. Despite the declines, the USD/Corn Exporter FX Index and USD/Domestic Corn Importer FX Index remain at the third highest and second highest figures on record, respectively.
USD/Corn Exporter FX Index:
The USD/Corn Exporter FX Index declined 1.7 points in Apr ’15 from the record high experienced in Mar ’15 to a value of 261.7. The USD/Corn Exporter FX Index remains at the third highest figure on record and has increased 82.0 points since the beginning of 2014 and 42.9 points throughout the past six months. A strengthening USD/Corn Exporter FX Index reduces the competitiveness of U.S. corn relative to other exporting regions, ultimately resulting in less foreign demand, all other factors being equal. USD appreciation against the Ukrainian hryvnia has accounted for the majority of the gains since the beginning of 2014, despite the Ukrainian hryvnia strengthening against the USD over the past two months.
USD/Corn Importer FX Index:
The USD/Corn Importer FX Index increased 0.2 points in Apr ’15 to a new high value of 223.6. The USD/Corn Importer FX Index has increased 24.6 points since the beginning of 2014 and 15.0 points throughout the past six months. A strengthening USD/Corn Importer FX Index results in less purchasing power for major corn importing countries, making U.S. corn more expensive to import. USD appreciation against the Iranian rial and euro has accounted for the majority of the gains since the beginning of 2014.
USD/Domestic Corn Importer FX Index:
The USD/Domestic Corn Importer FX Index declined 1.0 points in Apr ’15 from the record high experienced in Mar ’15 to a value of 147.0. The USD/Domestic Corn Importer FX Index remains at the second highest figure on record and has increased 14.8 points since the beginning of 2014 and 11.0 points throughout the past six months. A strengthening USD/Domestic Corn Importer FX Index results in less purchasing power for the traditional buyers of U.S. corn, ultimately resulting in less foreign demand, all other factors being equal. USD appreciation against the Mexican peso and Japanese yen has accounted for the majority of the gains since the beginning of 2014, despite both currencies strengthening against the USD in Apr ’15.
Soybeans FX Indices:
The U.S. dollar (USD) remained at elevated levels within the Atten Babler Commodities Soybeans Foreign Exchange (FX) Indexes, although slight declines were experienced during Apr ’15. The USD/Soybeans Exporter FX Index declined 1.1 points throughout the month while the USD/Soybeans Importer FX Index and USD/Domestic Soybeans Importer FX Index both declined by 0.6 points. Despite the declines, the USD/Soybeans Exporter FX Index remained at the second highest figure on record while the USD/Soybeans Importer FX Index and USD/Domestic Soybeans Importer FX Index both remain at the second highest figures experienced in the past seven and a half years.
USD/Soybeans Exporter FX Index:
The USD/Soybeans Exporter FX Index declined 1.1 points in Apr ’15 from the record high experienced in Mar ’15 to a value of 189.0. The USD/ Soybeans Exporter FX Index remains at the second highest figure on record and has increased 36.7 points since the beginning of 2014 and 18.3 points throughout the past six months. A strengthening USD/Soybeans Exporter FX Index reduces the competitiveness of U.S. soybeans relative to other exporting regions, ultimately resulting in less foreign demand, all other factors being equal. USD appreciation against the Argentine peso and Brazilian real has accounted for the majority of the gains since the beginning of 2014, despite the Brazilian real strengthening against the USD in Apr ’15.
USD/Soybeans Importer FX Index:
The USD/Soybeans Importer FX Index declined 0.6 points in Apr ’15 from the seven and a half year high experienced in Mar ’15 to a value of 95.6. The USD/ Soybeans Importer FX Index remains at the second highest figure experienced in the past seven and a half years and has increased 7.1 points since the beginning of 2014 and 4.7 points throughout the past six months. A strengthening USD/Soybeans Importer FX Index results in less purchasing power for major soybeans importing countries, making U.S. soybeans more expensive to import. USD appreciation against the euro and Turkish lira has accounted for the majority of the gains since the beginning of 2014.
USD/Domestic Soybeans Importer FX Index:
The USD/Domestic Soybeans Importer FX Index declined 0.6 points in Apr ’15 from the seven and a half year high experienced in Mar ’15 to a value of 98.1. The USD/ Domestic Soybeans Importer FX Index remains at the second highest figure experienced in the past seven and a half years and has increased 6.7 points since the beginning of 2014 and 4.5 points throughout the past six months. A strengthening USD/Domestic Soybeans Importer FX Index results in less purchasing power for the traditional buyers of U.S. soybeans, ultimately resulting in less foreign demand, all other factors being equal. USD appreciation against the Mexican peso, Russian ruble and Turkish lira has accounted for the majority of the gains since the beginning of 2014, despite the Mexican peso and Russian ruble strengthening against the USD in Apr ’15.