Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures closed higher on Friday after touching a three-week top, buoyed by firm cash cattle values and surging wholesale beef prices as labor shortages slow the U.S. slaughter pace, traders said. New-month buying by speculators may have also lent support, they said. Chicago Mercantile Exchange June live cattle […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hog futures climb with wholesale meat prices
About 20 North American meat plants offline

U.S. livestock: Hogs climb on strong pork exports, wholesale prices
Packer margins, wholesale beef prices support live cattle futures
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures rose on Thursday as bullish weekly U.S. pork export data and rising wholesale prices overshadowed worries about a slowdown in the U.S. hog slaughter pace backing up hog supplies, traders said. “You’ve got a combination of export sales being strong (and) the wholesale market trading very firm […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Hogs mostly lower as packing-plant woes persist
Backlog concerns drag on cattle
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures closed mostly lower on Wednesday, setting back from a one-month high set a day earlier in the benchmark June contract as traders mulled the implications of a presidential order for U.S. meat packing plants to remain open, traders said. President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered meat-processing plants […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Hogs pare gains as Trump plans order to keep meat plants open
Cattle up with wholesale beef prices
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures hit a four-week peak on Tuesday on worries about tightening pork supplies as the coronavirus shutters meat processing plants, but the market pared gains on news that U.S. President Donald Trump plans to order such sites to stay open. June lean hog futures on the Chicago Mercantile […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Hogs limit up on fears of tightening supplies
Cattle up on rising beef packer margins
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures rose their daily limit on Monday on fears of tightening domestic pork supplies as the coronavirus pandemic forces slowdowns at slaughterhouses, analysts said. June lean hog futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange settled up the daily maximum of 3.75 cents at 55.275 cents/lb., the contract’s highest since […] Read more

U.S. grains: Wheat firm on Russia export quota plan
Chicago corn ends lower
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures rose on Friday on optimism about export prospects as a Russian plan to cap grain exports for the rest of the season shifted attention back to potential supply tensions during the coronavirus pandemic. However, futures pared gains on profit-taking ahead of the weekend and worries that the rally […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Hog, cattle futures dive as volatile trade continues
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures tumbled on Friday, with several contracts falling the expanded daily limit of 4.5 U.S. cents/lb. on worries about a slowdown in demand for pork and fears that the coronavirus could shutter slaughterhouses, potentially backing up hog supplies, traders said. Chicago Mercantile Exchange June lean hog futures settled […] Read more

U.S. grains: Wheat retreats from two-month peak
Corn rallies to end firm
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures fell on Thursday, retreating from a two-month high set the previous session, as traders booked profits and awaited developments in the coronavirus crisis that had sparked the recent run-up in wheat markets. Soybean futures also declined but corn rallied late in the session to eke out a modest […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Hogs limit down as grocery panic eases
Widespread layoffs raise concern over beef demand
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures fell their daily three-cent limit on Thursday on signs that a consumer meat-buying frenzy has cooled, allowing traders to re-focus on plentiful U.S. hog and pork supplies, traders said. The benchmark June lean hog futures contract on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange settled down three cents at 68.75 […] Read more

U.S. grains: Wheat climbs on global demand for bread
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures surged on Wednesday, with the May contract on the Chicago Board of Trade hitting a two-month high on a mix of technical buying and global demand for bread as the coronavirus prompts consumer stockpiling, analysts said. Corn futures closed modestly higher while soybean futures turned lower. CBOT May […] Read more