Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Wednesday closed lower, pressured by fund liquidation that erased short-covering advances early in the session, traders said. More selling developed after the August and October contracts slipped below their respective 10-day moving averages of 152.31 and 155.03 cents, which triggered sell stops. August live […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Fund liquidation sinks CME live cattle

BLT costs harder to swallow with U.S. pig virus, drought
Chicago | Reuters — The cost to produce a BLT, America’s favorite summer sandwich, hit a record high of US$1.65 in May and will continue to take a bigger bite out of wallets in the coming months, given a pig virus that has ramped up bacon prices and drought-stricken salad crops in California. But price […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle futures drop as funds roll positions
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Tuesday settled lower as funds rolled their positions by selling the August contract and buying deferred months, traders said. Funds trading in CME’s live cattle and hog markets shifted August long positions further back in a procedure known as the “roll” by followers of […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Record-high cash prices boost CME live cattle
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Wednesday settled up sharply, supported by slaughter-ready or cash prices that hit all-time highs, traders said. Cash cattle in Kansas and Texas moved at mostly $158 per hundredweight (cwt), topping last week’s record by $3, according to feedlot sources (all figures US$). Feedlots were […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Cash price outlook rallies CME live cattle
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle on Tuesday recovered from Monday’s losses, supported by anticipation of steady-to-better prices for market-ready or cash cattle as beef prices set new highs, traders said. Last week, cash cattle in the U.S. Plains fetched a record-high US$155 per hundredweight (cwt). Profitable packer margins and fewer cattle […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME hogs jump as virus takes big toll on U.S. herd
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures closed sharply higher on Monday, with most months up the three-cent daily price limit as investors covered short positions after learning a pig virus has hit the U.S. hog herd harder than expected, traders said. Friday’s U.S. Department of Agriculture hog report showed a bigger-than-expected decline […] Read more

PEDv shrinks March-May U.S. hog herd more than expected
Reuters — The U.S. hog herd shrank more than anticipated in the March-May quarter as a deadly pig virus swept through farms, a U.S. Department of Agriculture report showed on Friday. The data also showed that despite higher hog prices in the wake of the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv), producers had not expanded herds […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME hogs up on short-covering before USDA report
Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures closed higher on Friday, supported by short-covering and positioning before the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s quarterly hog report at 2 p.m. CT, traders said. Analysts expect Friday’s data to show the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus hurt U.S. hog supplies while high hog prices fueled herd expansion. […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cash price outlook lift CME live cattle to record high
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Thursday hit their highest level ever in anticipation of strong prices for market-ready, or cash, cattle led by record-high beef values, traders said. “Retail beef demand has been on a tear while feeding the bulls in the cattle pit, increasing packer margins and causing […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Profit-taking drags down CME hog futures
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures fell hard on profit-taking after spiking to a new high driven by record-high wholesale pork values and strong prices for slaughter-ready hogs, traders said. Wednesday morning’s wholesale pork price, or cutout, surged $2.51 per hundredweight (cwt) from Tuesday to $134.04, surpassing the April record of $133.74, […] Read more