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Government shutdown affects commodity markets

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A dairy economist says the government shutdown does affect how the commodity markets function.  Mark Stephenson with the University of Wisconsin tells Brownfield the many reports generated by USDA are a big part of trading activities. “When we don’t get reports, for example, from NASS on milk production or cold storage, those are pieces of information that the markets really want to have, so the more that those get pushed off and are not providing the kinds of insights we need, the more difficult it is to form price opinions.”

Stephenson says the markets will still operate but without much of the data traders usually rely on. “Futures markets are a big sponge for information. They’re trying to soak up data on, you know, what weather in New Zealand is like or what’s happening to demand for dairy products, and USDA is a big source of that information.”

Stephenson says when the government stalemate ends, it will still take a while to get back to normal.  He expects many reports will be released after their scheduled dates.