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Perspective: Morning Commentary for September 4

September 4 – What better way to gear up for Labor Day weekend than a blowout Non-Farm Payrolls report, with this morning’s release showing 162k jobs being added in August, nearly tripling the average analyst estimate and marking the highest reading since March. Even more optimistic, the ugly loss of 23k jobs seen in July was revised notably higher to show 21k jobs being added during the month, while June was revised 11k higher to now show an addition of 31k. It’s interesting to note that August’s strength was seen in both the private and public sector, with the private sector adding 127k jobs in August, the highest monthly gain since April, and the public sector adding 35k jobs, the highest since October 2024. The unemployment rate in the U.S. held steady at 4.1% in August, now tied with July for the lowest level since June of last year. Also notable was the improvement in the labor force participation rate, rising to 61.6% in August from the 61.4% seen in July which represented the lowest rate since the height of the pandemic over six years ago. Overall, this was a very impressive result for the health of the U.S. labor market, keeping one side of the Fed’s dual mandate in check.

Mike CastleFri, 04 Sept 2026, 13:10

Grains & Oilseeds
Energy
Dairy
Renewable Fuels
Cocoa
Coffee
Cotton
Sugar
Meats & Livestock
Forest Products

Gold's Floor Sits on a Decade Old Trend Line Traders Rarely Watch

Gold's rebound is being framed by levels that were set long before it began, a resistance line from a decade ago that now works as support and a retracement grid drawn off the entire history of the move. Razan Hilal maps where that floor sits and what has to fail before it matters.

Razan HilalFri, 04 Sept 2026, 11:27

Precious Metals

Corn Scarcity Sends European Feeders Into a Contested Wheat Market

Europe's maize crop has been cut back hard by consecutive heatwaves, leaving feed buyers short of the grain they normally rely on. With Ukrainian supply constrained and feed wheat pulled toward export demand, the substitution that usually solves the problem has become a competition.

Editorial TeamFri, 04 Sept 2026, 11:16

Grains & Oilseeds

Corn Scarcity Sends European Feeders Into a Contested Wheat Market

Europe's maize crop has been cut back hard by consecutive heatwaves, leaving feed buyers short of the grain they normally rely on. With Ukrainian supply constrained and feed wheat pulled toward export demand, the substitution that usually solves the problem has become a competition.

Editorial TeamFri, 04 Sept 2026, 11:16

Grains & Oilseeds

S&P 500 Earnings Breadth Widened and Technology Was Not the Story

Technology opened and closed the earnings run, but the surprise reached much wider, with healthcare among the strongest percentage beats of the quarter. That breadth explains why index returns looked ordinary while sector returns pulled sharply apart.

Editorial TeamFri, 04 Sept 2026, 08:14

Equities

Dollar Weakness Hits the Euro and the Aussie as the Yen Steals Focus

The yen's two-day surge has dominated the headlines, but the euro, the Australian dollar and gold were all rebounding at the same time. That pattern points to a dollar problem rather than a purely Japanese one, and it changes how the next labor market print should be read.

Fawad RazaqzadaFri, 04 Sept 2026, 07:18

Currencies

Shrinking Rapeseed Crops Leave European Crushers Chasing More Imports

European rapeseed production estimates have been cut again, pushing crushers toward a larger import program at the same time river logistics remain restricted. What arrives now depends on Ukrainian export capacity and an upgraded Australian canola crop rather than on domestic supply.

Editorial TeamFri, 04 Sept 2026, 07:01

Grains & Oilseeds

Beef Tariff Relief Expires Too Fast to Move Any Supermarket Prices

A 90-day waiver on the higher out of quota beef tariff covers 300,000 metric tons, but the duration matters more than the volume. Nobody in the U.S. beef supply chain reprices for a policy that expires before the quarter ends.

Editorial TeamFri, 04 Sept 2026, 06:48

Meats & Livestock

European Feed Demand Is Competing With Exports on Wheat

Failed grazing across parts of Europe has pushed cattle and dairy farmers into bought-in rations at the same moment international buyers turned to European wheat. The result is a single supply base being asked to serve two very different customers.

Editorial TeamFri, 04 Sept 2026, 06:40

Grains & Oilseeds

Daily Coffee Report 9/3/26

Daily coffee report

StoneX Coffee TeamThu, 03 Sept 2026, 21:05

Coffee

CME Cash Market Summary

Daily CME spot dairy market price summary

Dairy Team - ChicagoThu, 03 Sept 2026, 15:36

Dairy

Bank of Japan and Federal Reserve Divergence Is Driving the Yen Higher

Two central banks are pushing the Japanese yen in the same direction at the same time, with Tokyo edging toward a rate hike while the Federal Reserve holds its focus on inflation. The gap between those two paths, and the U.S. labor data now testing it, is what the currency is actually trading on.