Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures scaled to life-of-contract highs on Friday on firmer cash market prices and tight supplies of market-ready animals, traders said. Feeder cattle futures also posted contract highs across the board, drawing additional support from weaker feed corn prices. Feedlot cattle in the central and southern U.S. […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME cattle touch contract highs on cash prices, tight supplies
Lean hogs mixed in technical trading

U.S. grains: Soybeans down on positioning, crush pace
CBOT wheat ends up on week
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell on Friday on technical selling and profit taking after two sessions of gains, and as a monthly crush report showed U.S. processors handled far fewer beans than expected in August. Corn futures followed soybeans lower, with both markets also pressured by improving crop conditions in Europe and […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME cattle futures ease in technical setback after highs
Nearby lean hogs also down on technical selling
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live and feeder cattle futures retreated on Wednesday in a technical selling and profit-taking setback after hitting highs earlier in the week, traders said. Higher feed corn prices and a weak tone to the cash beef market added pressure, they said. “This is technical after feeder cattle hit […] Read more

USDA June soybean crush seen at 175.5 million bushels
If estimate realized, would be smallest monthly crush since September
Chicago | Reuters – U.S. soy processors likely crushed 5.265 million short tons of soybeans, or 175.5 million bushels, in June, according to the average forecast of eight analysts surveyed by Reuters ahead of a monthly U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report. If the estimate is realized, it would be down from the 189.3 million […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME cattle end higher on firm cash values
Hogs settle lower off recent highs
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures ended modestly higher on Monday on follow-though buying from Friday and carry-over strength from last week’s strong cash cattle market. Cash cattle traded late last week as high as $184-$185 per hundredweight (cwt) in northern feedlot areas, traders said, up from sales of around $178-$182 […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle climb on firmer cash market
Hogs down on technical selling
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures rallied on Friday on tight fed cattle supplies and higher cash market sales in the central U.S. Plains and western Midwest, traders said. Beef packers were in need of cattle to fill near-term operations, including a large Saturday slaughter and a full week of production […] Read more

U.S. grains: Soybeans, corn drop on improved crop weather
CBOT September wheat also down
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures fell on Friday as recent welcome rains across the Midwest farm belt, and forecasts for more next week, aided crops that had been suffering under an early season drought. Soybeans, which notched a four-month high on Monday, ended down 1.9 per cent for the week, while […] Read more

U.S. grains: Corn firms on technicals, short-covering
Soybeans retreat; wheat futures consolidate
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures rose on Thursday on technical buying and short covering following a two-week slide that took prices to 2-1/2 year lows. Soybean futures fell in a profit-taking retreat from multi-month highs posted after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) unexpectedly slashed its U.S. plantings estimate and as recent rains […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle ease on weak cash market
Lean hog futures mostly higher
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures declined on Thursday as a weak tone to the cash market and worries about slowing beef demand weighed on prices, traders said. Livestock traders were monitoring cash market activity at Plains feedlots, where fed cattle were lightly bid at $178/cwt, below the bulk of cash […] Read more

U.S. grains: Wheat surges on slow harvesting, poor crop conditions
Corn hits 2-1/2-year low and ends mixed, soy mostly firm
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures surged on Wednesday as slow winter wheat harvesting and deteriorating spring crop conditions fuelled buying and short covering that lifted prices from 2-1/2-week lows. The wheat rally pulled corn up from 2-1/2-year lows despite expanded plantings and recent rains that lessened concerns about drought-reduced yields. Soybeans firmed on […] Read more