Reading Time: 3 minutes Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) live cattle futures closed higher on Monday on a technical short-covering bounce after the steep slide of prices on Friday and the market showed a lack of momentum to the upside, traders said. "We opened higher, turned down on liquidation and then bounced back so everybody is waiting to see where […] Read more
U.S. live cattle end up, in tepid recovery
U.S. live cattle futures down on poor profits
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) live cattle futures contracts were lower on Wednesday on poor profit margins for packers and feeders, while hog futures also dropped on falling pork product prices, analysts and traders said. "Technically, cattle are weak and the April contract is holding a huge premium to cash," said Jim Clarkson, analyst for A+A […] Read more
U.S. soy falls to six-week low on crop prospects
Reading Time: 3 minutes U.S. soybeans fell over one per cent to a six-week low on Friday, the fourth consecutive daily drop, on prospects the U.S. government may increase its forecast size of the U.S. crop, a likely bumper harvest of South American soy and China’s cancellation of orders for U.S. soybeans. "A lot of this has to do […] Read more
U.S. soybeans drop again after China cancels order
Reading Time: 3 minutes U.S. soybean prices fell for the third consecutive trading session on Thursday, extending losses after China, the world’s biggest soy importer, cancelled orders for U.S. soy and on expectations for bumper crops in South America. "We’re about two weeks away from the start of probably a record Brazilian soybean harvest," said Art Liming, futures specialist […] Read more
U.S. grains tumble as fiscal deal euphoria fades
Reading Time: 3 minutes U.S. grains tumbled on Wednesday, led by a three per cent slump in wheat prices, as a rebound in the dollar wiped out early gains fueled by U.S. lawmakers acting to prevent massive tax increases and spending cuts. Soyoil was the only market that held strong throughout the first trading day of 2013, supported by […] Read more
U.S. cattle futures gain, hog futures firm
Reading Time: 2 minutes U.S. cattle futures rose Friday over improved optimism that lawmakers would work through budget differences and traders awaited the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s October cattle-on-feed report. Livestock futures also have been finding support from declining Chicago (CBOT) corn and soymeal, which will lower feed costs. Corn turned firm late on Friday but is still down […] Read more
U.S. cattle down on weak beef; hogs fade
Reading Time: 3 minutes U.S. live cattle futures ended down on Thursday on pressure from weak cash cattle and wholesale beef markets, and feeder cattle fell on signs feed costs may again be rebounding, analysts and traders said. "Cattle were technically weak and I think fundamentals are weak but I’m bearish so let’s just say it’s choppy," said Jim Clarkson, […] Read more
U.S. grains decline on tepid export sales
Reading Time: 3 minutes U.S. soybean futures fell on Thursday, reversing three days of gains, while corn dropped more than one per cent on tepid U.S. export sales and mounting concerns about weak demand. Wheat was down one per cent, posting its biggest loss in two weeks, and on the heels of Wednesday’s nearly two per cent rally in […] Read more
U.S. wheat rises on Ukraine’s move to halt exports
Reading Time: 3 minutes U.S. wheat futures rose nearly two per cent on Wednesday, the biggest rally in two weeks, as Ukraine banned wheat exports from Nov. 15 in a move that could shift demand to the United States. Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) wheat surged when the benchmark December contract broke above chart resistance at its 50-day moving […] Read more
U.S. grain futures ease on macroeconomic issues
Reading Time: 3 minutes U.S. grain futures eased Tuesday, pressured by a stronger dollar and lower equities amid renewed concerns about the global economy, with wheat dropping one per cent, reversing four days of gains. Soybeans fell early in the day but later bucked the broad-based commodities selloff and ended up for the second consecutive trading session. "The cash […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
