CME May 2020 feeder cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hogs fall on demand uncertainty

Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — U.S. livestock futures fell on Wednesday, pressured by sharp declines in the equities markets and uncertainty about demand due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The cattle and hog markets surged on Tuesday because of strength in the cash market after consumers cleared out grocery store shelves in anticipation of being homebound […] Read more

CME June 2020 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hogs rally after grocery stores depleted

Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle and hog futures surged on Tuesday, fueled by strength in the cash market as the grocery sector looked to restock shelves following heavy buying during the weekend. Bargain buying also helped support the livestock market. Both live cattle and feeder cattle futures were recovering from near 10-year lows hit […] Read more


File photo of piglets at a hog operation in China. (KuLouKu/iStock/Getty Images)

China encourages firms to raise pigs overseas

Officials aim to plug domestic pork shortage

Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing | Reuters — China said Monday it is encouraging companies to build pig farms overseas to plug a severe domestic pork shortage after a worse-than-ever African swine fever slashed almost half of its pig herd. China has urged local authorities to support qualified domestic firms to “go out,” and build hog farming bases in […] Read more

(TysonFoods.com)

U.S. under pressure to keep slaughterhouses open

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is seeking to reassure meat producers it will keep slaughterhouses staffed with federal inspectors as fears about potential shutdowns due to the COVID-19 coronavirus hammer livestock prices and fuel concerns about food supplies, meat industry groups said on Monday. Livestock markets have been hit hard as […] Read more


CME June 2020 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures hit 10-year lows

Coronavirus stokes demand uncertainty

Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle futures plunged on Monday to their lowest in nearly a decade, with traders citing uncertainty about what the coronavirus pandemic will mean for long-term demand. Hog futures also were sharply lower, sinking to their lowest since October 2018. All fed cattle contracts and most hog contracts settled down the […] Read more

CME April 2020 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Lean hogs, cattle limit down on coronavirus fears

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures fell their expanded daily limit on Friday on fears that the coronavirus pandemic could curb consumer demand for meat and threaten the workforce at slaughterhouses, traders said. “The germophobia is in full force,” said Don Roose, president of Iowa-based U.S. Commodities. Traders are considering that more widespread […] Read more


CME April 2020 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Wall Street leads CME cattle, hogs limit down

'You are developing a demand problem'

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle and feeder cattle futures plunged their daily limit on Thursday, dragged down by another steep sell-off on Wall Street, fears of a global recession and continued uncertainty about consumer demand for meat, traders said. Chicago Mercantile Exchange April live cattle contract settled down its three-cent limit at 100.075 […] Read more

CME June 2020 live cattle, with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures sag as virus woes fuel recession fears

Bearish market sentiment also drags on hogs

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures fell on Wednesday, with several deferred months setting contract lows as fears of a global recession sent global equity markets tumbling and fueled uncertainty about consumer demand for beef, traders said. “The cattle market really follows what is going on with equities, and equities are down near […] Read more


CME April 2020 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hogs follow rebound on Wall Street

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures closed higher on Tuesday, following as Wall Street charged back from the prior day’s steep losses as the world’s biggest economies moved to cushion the impact of the coronavirus, traders said. The rally in global equity markets overshadowed bearish fundamentals in the cattle market, including declining cash […] Read more

CME April 2020 feeder cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures dive, led by energy, equity markets

CME feeder cattle close limit down

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures fell on Monday for a third straight session and hit life-of-contract lows following a plunge in crude oil and equity markets amid fears of a global recession, traders said. “When you have the stock market losing five to seven per cent of its value in a day, […] Read more