Ukraine:  Summer Offensive?   The Ukraine-Russia Conflict may be hitting a new phase with some noises around a Ukrainian offensive – certainly the Russian push at Bakhmut was a pyrrhic victory at best.  It is too soon to know.  In mid-May the Ukraine Black Sea grain deal was extended for two more…

During the month of May, Livestock (+1.72%) and Indices (+1.19%) were the top performers. The bottom performers were Metals (-6.53%) and Energy (-5.50%). After a strong finish in April carried over to the beginning of May, the markets came to a slow as investors held back while talks on the…

Commodities: Global   OPEC Oil Production Fell in April by about 0.2 million barrels per day (mbpd) to 28.6 mbpd due to a halt in Iraqi and Nigerian exports with more declines expected in May due to the lower quotas announced in April.  Iran’s oil minister said that their production…

Ukraine:  Winter & Sanctions Impact   The Ukraine-Russia Conflict ground on as Russia’s larger numbers weighed on Ukrainian defenders.  Leaked US intelligence documents indicated Russia suffered 100,000 casualties and 20,000 deaths this year so far, about 30% of the additional called-up forces over the last six months or so.  The…