CME August 2023 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle soar as cash prices explode

Lean hog futures mostly lower

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures surged on Thursday as cash cattle traded as high as US$180/cwt in Texas and Kansas, up to US$9 higher than last week, reflecting strong demand from meat-packers amid rising beef prices and tightening cattle supplies, traders said. CME’s most-active August live cattle futures contract settled […] Read more

A Belize-flagged bulker, carrying grain under UN’s Black Sea Grain Initiative, transits the Bosphorus at Istanbul on May 12, 2023. (File photo: Reuters/Yoruk Isik)

Ukraine says Russia again blocking Black Sea grain export deal

Russia seeks ammonia transit via Pivdennyi

Kyiv | Reuters — Ukraine’s ministry of renovation and infrastructure said on Thursday the U.N.-brokered Black Sea grain export deal had been halted again because Russia had blocked registration of ships to all Ukrainian ports. A U.N. spokesman said Russia had informed officials overseeing the initiative that Moscow would limit registrations to the port of […] Read more


CBOT July 2023 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Weather worries lift soybeans, new-crop corn

CBOT July wheat also climbs

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures rose on Thursday on worries about dryness building in the Midwest crop belt, while a setback in the dollar and speculative buying at the start of a new month lent additional support, analysts said. Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) wheat climbed 2.8 per cent, extending Wednesday’s rebound from […] Read more



CBOT July 2023 soft red winter wheat with Bollinger bands (20,2), MGEX July 2023 hard red spring wheat (yellow line) and K.C. July 2023 hard red winter wheat (orange line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat bounces off 2-1/2 year low

Corn, soy futures pare losses

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago wheat futures closed higher on Wednesday on a round of bargain buying after the benchmark July contract dipped to its lowest level in nearly 2-1/2 years, dragged down by strong competition for export business and macroeconomic worries, brokers said. Similarly, U.S. corn and soybean futures recovered from steep declines, with […] Read more

CME July 2023 lean hogs with Bollinger bands (20,2) and CME’s cash lean hog index (brown line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs bounce on short-covering

Cattle futures up with beef prices, tighter supplies

Chicago | Reuters — Benchmark July lean hog futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange jumped nearly five per cent on Wednesday, extending their two-day rally to 11 per cent on a round of bargain-buying following a months-long slump, traders said. CME July hogs settled up 3.8 cents at 83.325 cents/lb., while front-month June hogs ended […] Read more


CBOT July 2023 soft red winter wheat with 20- and 50-day moving averages, MGEX July 2023 hard red spring wheat (yellow line) and K.C. July 2023 hard red winter wheat (orange line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat, corn, soy fall on uncertain demand, weather

Sagging equities, crude oil also bearish on grains

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat, corn and soybean futures tumbled on Tuesday, pressured by macroeconomic worries, strong competition for global grain export business and some forecasts for beneficial Midwest rains next month that could bolster production prospects, analysts said. “The wetter outlook removed the one factor providing stability for the grain and oilseed markets, […] Read more

CME July 2023 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs limit-up on bargain buying

Cash and beef values lift cattle futures

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures surged their daily limit on Tuesday, rebounding from Friday’s life-of-contract lows on a round of bargain-buying and short-covering toward the end of the month, and as feed grain futures fell sharply, traders said. “It really got grossly overdone to the bottom side,” said Dennis Smith, commodity […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Canadian feeder market rationing demand

Improvement seen in feeding margins

For the week ending Saturday, western Canadian feeder markets averaged $3-$6/cwt higher compared to seven days earlier. Weakness in the Canadian dollar along with strength in the deferred live cattle futures set a positive tone. Recent rains have enhanced yield potential for the Canadian barley crop, which also underpinned nearby cash values. Alberta packers were […] Read more

Liberia-flagged bulker K Sukret, carrying grain under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, waits for inspection in the southern anchorage of Istanbul on May 17, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Mehmet Emin Caliskan)

Black Sea grain deal slow to get moving after extension

Ukraine says Russia has effectively frozen out one port

United Nations | Reuters — A deal allowing the safe wartime export of grain and fertilizer from Ukrainian Black Sea ports has not yet resumed full operations, the United Nations said on Friday, having come to a halt before Russia’s decision last week to extend it. The pact called the Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered […] Read more