Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures sank to a nine-month low on Thursday, weighed down by seasonally tepid wholesale beef demand and sharply lower prices for slaughter-ready, or cash, cattle, traders said. Thursday’s market losses triggered pre-established sell orders. And fund liquidation developed after August and October futures fell below their […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle hit nine-month low

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle give back Tuesday’s gains
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Wednesday reversed some of Tuesday’s advances, led by fund liquidation and expectations for softer prices for slaughter-ready, or cash, cattle this week, traders said. “We obviously still see liquidation by funds that are still long the market,” West Oak Commodities analyst Tom Tippens said. […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle rebound after bargain hunters step in
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures closed sharply higher on Tuesday, ignited by bargain buying after burdensome supplies recently sank the contract to eight-month lows, said traders. “Everybody was just overly bearish and we had lots of long liquidation by funds pushing the market down. So we’ve got to where there […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle retreat on softer cash price outlook
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures fell on Monday on expectations for lower prices for slaughter-ready, or cash, cattle this week amid ample supplies, traders said. The decline triggered pre-determined sell orders, and funds sold the October contract after it slipped beneath its 200-day moving average of 107.183 cents (all figures […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Bargain buying pares some live cattle losses
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange contracts on Friday landed in positive territory for the first time in five sessions, helped by short-covering and bargain buying, said traders. “We’ve had a big down week. I think this a kind of dead cat technical bounce (temporary recovery) ahead of the weekend,” Midwest Marketing Solutions analyst […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Supply jitters extend CME live cattle futures losses
Chicago/Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures fell for a fourth straight session on Thursday, dragged down by growing worries about hefty near-term supplies, traders said. “We’ve got more numbers (cattle) out here and more numbers coming, and that’s just a Damocles sword over this market,” said Top Third Marketing analyst Mark Gold. Fund […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Live cattle hits 8-month low on cash prices
Chicago/Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures tumbled to the lowest level in eight months, led by fund liquidation and weaker-than-expected prices for cattle ready for processing, traders said. August ended 2.475 cents per pound lower at 110.000 cents, and October closed 2.550 cents lower at 108.050 cents. Packers in the U.S. Plains on […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Market uncertainty weighs on CME live cattle futures
Chicago/Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures were weakened on Tuesday by uncertainty over how much packers will pay for cattle this week and whether the seasonal lull in wholesale beef demand has ended, traders said. Futures remained at a steep discount, or undervalued, compared with this week’s expected prices for market-ready or cash […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Lean hog futures turn higher on cash discounts
Chicago/Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hogs settled higher on Friday, with buyers attracted to futures that remained undervalued compared to prices paid by packers for market-ready, or cash, hogs, traders said. CME’s hog index, a barometer for cash prices, for Aug. 2 was 87.11 per cwt. Bargain buying after recent losses and purchases by […] Read more

Plant-based meats whet U.S. summer grilling appetites
Chicago/Reuters – Burgers made from plants instead of animals are capturing more space on U.S. barbecue grills this summer, fueling sales in the niche products that could reach $5 billion globally by 2020. Plant-based meat foods are now available that include beet juice for color and canola oil to simulate fat. These changes are not […] Read more