Climate Adaptation
Climate Change Speeds Up U.S. Harvest, Giving Oil Unlikely Lift
- Diesel jumps 12% as tractors needed earlier for corn harvest
- ‘Hot, sunny and windy’ is prescription to boost fuel markets
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American farmers are preparing to fire up their tractors earlier than usual this year, and it’s an unexpected gift to oil markets.
Unusually hot and dry weather has sped up crop development, and corn and soybean fields should be ready for harvesting several weeks earlier than normal. The value of diesel, the tractor fuel for the harvest, rose more than 12% since Aug. 20 in the Chicago and Tulsa, Oklahoma, cash trades.