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Louisiana ag and energy exports, oil production disrupted ahead of Francine... Oil refineries slowed production and agricultural exports out of the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana were disrupted ahead of Hurricane Francine’s landfall this evening. New Orleans, Plaquemines, Cameron, Lake Charles and Houma ports remained closed on Wednesday, the U.S. Coast Guard said, tying up fuel, soybean and grains headed for export. Six eastern Louisiana refineries, most around New Orleans, were operating with minimal staff to ride out the storm in the plants. Francine’s rains could threaten the region’s cotton crop and other crops, agriculture officials said.
Consumer inflation falls to lowest since early 2021... U.S. consumer inflation continued its decline in August, with the consumer price index (CPI) up 2.5% from year-ago, the lowest rate since February 2021. Core inflation, excluding food and energy costs, held at 3.2%. Both headline and core inflation increased slightly month-over-month by 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively.
Food prices stood 2.1% above year-ago in August, with food at home (grocery) prices up 0.9% and food away from home (restaurant) costs up 4.0%.
While headline inflation is nearly down to the Fed’s 2.0% target, core inflation remained more sticky last month. As a result, markets reflect the strongest odds for the Fed starting its monetary easing with a 25-basis-point cut following the Sept. 17-18 meeting, with only small odds of a 50-basis-point reduction.
Japan to slash domestic wheat price by 1.8% from October... Japan will cut the price at which it sells imported wheat to domestic flour mills from October by an average 1.8% to reflect a softer international wheat market, the country’s farm ministry said. This will mark the third consecutive drop in price to the adjustment in value that happens twice per year. For the six months starting Oct. 1, the ministry’s wheat-selling price to local millers will average 66,610 yen ($469) per metric ton, down from 67,810 yen the previous period.
India to buy soybeans to help farmers... India will buy soybeans from farmers in three main crop regions at state-set support prices to help growers reeling from a crash in domestic values. Prices of soybeans have dropped well below the government-set support price of 4,892 rupees ($58.27) per 100 kg. The soybean purchases will be made in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
Key issues addressed by Harris, Trump in presidential debate... Following are highlights of the key issues addressed by presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump in Tuesday’s debate.
Economy
· Harris criticized Trump’s economic policies, particularly his tariffs, arguing they would effectively create a sales tax on the middle class.
· Trump touted low inflation during his presidency, while Harris incorrectly pointed to record-high inflation under the Trump administration.
· Harris pivoted frequently repeated her proposals to give tax breaks to small businesses and increase the supply of housing.
· Harris did not answer a key question: “Are American better off today than they were four years ago?”
Trade
Harris: “The Trump administration resulted in a trade deficit — one of the highest we’ve ever seen in the history of America.” That is mostly false. At its largest, the trade deficit for goods and services under Trump was about $654 billion in 2020. That’s larger than most post-World War II presidents, but Harris glossed over that the final four years under President George W. Bush each produced a larger trade deficit than Trump’s biggest. And the trade deficit has been even bigger under the Biden/Harris administration. In each of the first three years under Biden and Harris, from 2021 to 2023, the trade deficit has been larger than it was during Trump’s worst year. It set a record in 2022.
Harris called Trump’s trade policy proposal to raise tariffs a “Trump sales tax.”
Harris outlined her approach to trade:
· Focus on relationships with allies.
· Support America’s workforce to protect workers’ rights.
· Invest in American technology to secure the U.S. position in AI and quantum computing.
· Advocate for more targeted restrictions on China in collaboration with U.S. allies.
Trump defended his trade policies:
· Proposed increasing tariffs, including blanket tariffs of 10% to 20% and additional tariffs of 60% to 100% on Chinese imports.
· Claimed his administration had collected “billions and billions of dollars” from China through tariffs.
· Argued that other countries would “finally pay us for everything we’ve done for the world.”
· Stated that higher prices would be faced by China and other countries “ripping us off,” not American consumers.
· Trump also pointed out that the Biden/Harris administration has kept most of his tariffs in place, saying they “never took the tariffs off because it brought in so much money.”
Abortion Rights. This was a major point of contention:
· Harris strongly defended abortion rights, arguing the government should not dictate women’s healthcare decisions.
· Trump claimed credit for overturning Roe v. Wade but said he would not sign a national abortion ban.
· Harris accused Trump of wanting to enact a national ban, which he denied.
Immigration
· Trump focused heavily on border security and illegal immigration. At one point, he made a baseless claim about immigrants eating pets, which Harris quickly refuted.
· Trump aggressively pinned Harris to the Biden-era migrant crisis, reiterating his unsupported claim that the administration is allowing people from prisons, mental institutions and “insane asylums” to enter the country illegally. “They’re coming in, and they’re taking jobs that are occupied right now by African-Americans and Hispanics and also unions,” Trump asserted. “They’re going in violently. These are the people that she and Biden let into our country, and they’re destroying our country.”
· Trump made several inaccurate claims about immigrants during the debate, including the suggestion that the equivalent of the population of the state of New York (20 million people) have entered the country since President Biden took office. The Wall Street Journal’s recent analysis has found that about 10 million immigrants have come to the U.S. in the past four years, though a large chunk of those are people who entered on Green Cards or other visas.
Harris policy flip-flops
· Harris was pressed by the moderators on the many issues she has reversed positions on since her unsuccessful campaign for the 2020 Democratic nomination. She said she would respond but did not.
· Harris denied that she would impose a ban on fracking — an important issue to voters in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, where the debate was held — continuing to walk back comments she made as a Democratic presidential candidate in 2019.
U.S.-bound imports surge ahead of potential East and Gulf Coast ports strike... U.S. import volumes remain elevated in anticipation of a potential strike at East and Gulf Coast ports, according to the latest Port Tracker report. With the current labor contract set to expire on Sept. 30 and no significant progress in negotiations, retailers are rushing shipments and shifting to alternate ports. Import volumes in August jumped 20.9% year-over-year, with concerns about a strike adding to supply-chain challenges as the holiday season approaches.
Johnson cancels CR vote... House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) canceled a planned vote on a six-month government funding bill due to opposition from House Republicans, just 19 days before a potential government shutdown. The bill faced criticism from GOP members and a White House veto threat. With limited time left, Johnson’s failure to unite his party leaves the House struggling to find a path forward on federal spending, while Democrats push for bipartisan negotiations on a continuing resolution (CR).