Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — Live cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange closed higher on Tuesday on expectations of firmer cash prices as supplies of market-ready cattle tighten, following a drop this past spring in the number of cattle placed in feedlots, traders said. “Packer margins are huge; they are still over $350 a head. […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle futures rise on expectations of firm cash values
Hog market appears technically overbought
Minnesota fields thrive, Iowa storm damage continues on crop tour
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Scouts on an annual U.S. Midwest crop tour continued to see fields battered by an Aug. 10 derecho storm in central Iowa on Thursday, with corn stalks snapped and ears littering the ground due to the hurricane-like winds. In Iowa, crop prospects swung wildly from field to field, according to scouts […] Read more
Options market operator buys last independent U.S. grain exchange
MIH makes deal to buy Minneapolis' MGEX
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Options exchange operator Miami International Holdings (MIH) will acquire the 139-year-old Minneapolis Grain Exchange, the last independent U.S. grain exchange, the organizations said in a statement on Friday. Best known for its flagship hard red spring wheat futures contracts, the MGEX, founded as the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce in 1881, will […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans firm as U.S. biodiesel data lifts soyoil; corn flat
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters – U.S. soybean futures rose on Friday for a second session as soyoil futures climbed more than 1 percent on demand from the soy-based biodiesel fuel sector, traders said. Corn futures were little changed, anchored by benign weather in most of the Midwest crop belt that favored good yields, while wheat futures […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle futures close higher on strong export data
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters – U.S. live cattle futures closed higher on Thursday for a third straight day, buoyed by strong weekly beef export sales and signs of firming cash cattle prices, traders said. Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) August live cattle futures settled up 0.275 cent at 101.725 cents per pound while most-active October rose 0.700 […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn ends nearly flat as crop prospects offset big sales to China
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters – U.S. corn futures closed fractionally higher on Thursday but held just above one-month lows, as benign crop weather and expectations of a large harvest offset news of massive U.S. corn sales to China, analysts said. Soybean futures ended firmer higher while wheat futures drifted lower. Chicago Board of Trade December corn […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Live cattle futures close higher; lean hogs decline
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters – U.S. live cattle futures closed higher on Wednesday for a second session on firm cash cattle prices and a softer dollar, traders said. Cash cattle traded in the Texas Panhandle and Kansas at $97 per cwt, mostly $1 higher than last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a daily note. A […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn falls to one-month low as mild U.S. weather favours crops
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters – U.S. corn futures fell for a fourth straight session on Wednesday, touching their lowest level in a month as mild weather in most of the Midwest favored prospects for a large harvest, analysts said. Soybeans also fell on beneficial weather outlooks. But wheat futures rose on short-covering and optimism about export […] Read more
North Dakota spring wheat prospects seen below 2019, crop experts say
Reading Time: 1 minute Chicago | Reuters – The spring wheat crop in North Dakota, the top U.S. producer of the grain, should yield less than last year due to a mix of dry June weather in the state’s western area and excessive rain in the southeast, crop experts said on Tuesday. The United States is projected as the […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Live cattle futures firm on expectations of firm cash
Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters – U.S. live cattle futures rose on Tuesday, supported by expectations of higher prices this week in the cash market for slaughter-ready cattle, traders said. “Cash could be steady to $1 to $2 (per cwt) better this week. Some of the show lists are smaller than last week, and that has (led […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
