Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures dropped to their lowest level in more than five weeks on Tuesday as technical selling and concerns about the U.S. economy weighed on prices, analysts said. Economic worries increased after the failure over the weekend of First Republic Bank. Wall Street stock indexes sagged ahead […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle hit five-week low
Technical selling, economic worries add pressure; June hogs up

U.S. begins testing bird flu vaccines for poultry after record outbreak
Four vaccines to be tested
Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. government is testing four potential bird flu vaccines for poultry, officials said on Friday, after more than 58 million chickens, turkeys and other birds have died in the nation’s worst outbreak ever. The trials, conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service, are the first step […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle pull back from all-time highs
Chicago lean hogs up off contract lows
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures retreated on Friday after racing to all-time highs during the previous three sessions as tightening U.S. supplies rallied cash prices. Profit-taking and technical pressured futures following the surge, though the market could still post new highs moving forward, analysts said. Surging cash prices this week […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle hit another record high
Cattle producers seen playing hard ball; hogs touch contract lows
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures set a record high for the third consecutive session on Thursday as producers held out for higher prices from meatpackers searching for supplies, brokers said. Strong cash prices and tightening supplies have pushed futures above a 2014 record for the front-month contract, after ranchers reduced […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle hit record high as packers scramble for supplies
Chicago lean hogs continue lower
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures stormed to an all-time high on Wednesday as meatpackers scrambled to buy livestock at a time when supplies are tightening, brokers said. Ranchers have reduced their herds due to high feed costs and drought in the western U.S., forcing packers such as Tyson Foods and […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Sizzling cash cattle prices ignite rally in CME futures
April hogs up, June down
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures leapt to contract highs on Thursday as cash prices soared, stoking concerns about tightening U.S. supplies. Meatpackers had to be aggressive in the cash market, brokers said, after ranchers have reduced their herds due to high feed costs and drought in the western U.S. Cattle […] Read more

U.S. grains: Crop futures slide on disappointing export sales, improved weather
Traders adjust positions before Easter weekend
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade grain and soybean futures crumbled on Thursday on disappointing U.S. export sales and an improved weather outlook for U.S. spring plantings, analysts said. U.S. soybean export sales for 2022-23 were 155,300 tonnes for the week ended March 30, down 42 per cent from the prior four-week average, […] Read more

After growing GM corn for decades, some U.S. farmers open to Mexican restrictions
Biden administration seeks to challenge ban
Chicago | Reuters — Mexico has found unexpected allies as it tries to limit imports of genetically modified (GM) corn: some U.S. farmers who grow the crops. Farmers have for decades planted GM corn, which protects against insects and herbicides, with seeds sold by companies such as Bayer, Corteva and ChemChina’s Syngenta. But as believers […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME cattle up on higher cash price expectations
June lean hogs hit new lows
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures firmed on Wednesday on expectations for higher U.S. cash prices this week, as lean hog futures set contract lows, analysts said. Cash cattle were bid at about $168/cwt in the southern Plains, roughly $1 higher than the bulk of trading last week, said Dennis Smith, […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME cattle slide on profit-taking
April lean hogs set contract low
Chicago | Reuters — Profit-taking pushed down Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures on Tuesday, while front-month lean hog futures tumbled to another contract low. Losses on Wall Street helped set a negative tone for the markets, as live cattle futures pulled back from contract highs reached on Monday, traders said. “Cattle-wise, we got a bit […] Read more