WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. and
CHICAGO, April 4, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Producer sentiment
toward the agricultural economy dropped to 124 in March marking the
second consecutive month of decline, according to the Purdue
University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer.
The decrease is a 10-point drop from February's reading of 134.
The barometer is based on a monthly survey of 400 agricultural
producers from across the United
States.
"The barometer has been moderating in recent months after a
large jump in sentiment that began in November 2016," said Jim Mintert, director of
Purdue's Center for Commercial
Agriculture and principal investigator for the barometer. "While
sentiment has settled lower, it's important to note that it is
still higher than during all but the last two months of 2016."
The March 2016 reading was 85.
The barometer's sub indices — the Index of Current Conditions
and the Index of Future Expectations — offer insights into why
producer sentiment settled at 124. The Index of Future
Expectations, which measures producer sentiment 12 months out and
beyond, fell to 126 in March, down from the February reading of
148. The Index of Current Conditions, however, increased from 105
in February to 120 in March.
"At 120 in March, the Index of Current Conditions exceeded
recent highs and is at a level that we haven't seen since late
2015," Mintert said. "Producers' reduced optimism about future
economic conditions in agriculture are what drove this month's
barometer lower."
Producers' optimism toward the overall U.S. economy continued to
be strong in the March report, a trend that started in November 2016. In October, just 35 percent of
respondents said they expected widespread good times in the U.S.
economy over the next five years. By December, this number had
jumped to 71 percent. It improved again in the March survey,
increasing to 77 percent.
"These results are consistent with producer responses to other
questions about the U.S. economy," said David Widmar, senior
research associate for the Center for Commercial Agriculture and
leader of the barometer's research activities. "Two examples are
that 59 percent of producers said that they expect the U.S. economy
to expand and 78 percent expect the U.S. stock market to be higher
or about the same over the next 12 months."
Read the full March Ag Economy Barometer report at
http://purdue.edu/agbarometer. This month's report includes
information about farm finances and livestock commodity price
expectations. The website offers additional resources, such as past
reports, charts and survey methodology, and a form to sign up for
free monthly barometer email updates and quarterly webinars.
The Ag Economy Barometer, Index of Current Conditions and Index
of Future Expectations are available on the Bloomberg Terminal
under the following ticker symbols: AGECBARO, AGECCURC and
AGECFTEX.
About the Purdue University
Center for Commercial Agriculture
The Center for Commercial
Agriculture was founded in 2011 to provide professional development
and educational programs for farmers. Housed within Purdue University's Department of Agricultural
Economics, the center's faculty and staff develop and execute
research and educational programs that address the different needs
of managing in today's business environment.
About CME Group
As the world's leading and most
diverse derivatives marketplace, CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) is
where the world comes to manage risk. Through its exchanges, CME
Group offers the widest range of global benchmark products across
all major asset classes, including futures and options based on
interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy,
agricultural products and metals. CME Group provides electronic
trading globally on its CME Globex platform. The company also
offers clearing and settlement services across asset classes for
exchange-traded and over-the-counter derivatives through its
clearinghouses CME Clearing and CME Clearing Europe. CME Group's
products and services ensure that businesses around the world can
effectively manage risk and achieve growth.
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Inc. CBOT, Chicago Board of Trade,
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CME-G
Related website:
Purdue
University Center for Commercial Agriculture:
http://purdue.edu/commercialag
CME Group: http://www.cmegroup.com/
Photo Caption
Producer sentiment surrounding the
agricultural economy slipped to 124 in March, a 10-point drop from
February that was driven primarily by a major decrease in optimism
about future expectations. (Purdue/CME
Group Ag Economy Barometer/David
Widmar)
A publication-quality photo is available at
https://news.uns.purdue.edu/images/2017/Ag-Barometer-March.jpg.
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ag-economy-barometer-producer-sentiment-slips-in-march-300434046.html
SOURCE CME Group