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

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle ease with equities

Chicago lean hogs rise

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures weakened with equities on Tuesday, while hog futures advanced. Moves in the cattle market have nearly mirrored those in equities since last week, traders said, with the global spread of the new coronavirus fueling sharp moves. All three major U.S. stock market indexes dropped more […] Read more

CBOT May 2020 corn with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soy, wheat, corn up on economic stimulus hopes

Recovery continues off COVID-19-related pressure

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain and soybean futures rose on Tuesday on technical buying and expectations for a co-ordinated global effort to offset the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak. The U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates in an emergency move designed to shield the world’s largest economy from the COVID-19 virus, whose global […] Read more


CBOT May 2020 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybean futures touch five-week high

Corn rises as markets rebound

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures set a five-week high and corn futures advanced on Monday as markets rebounded from selling last week that was fueled by concerns over the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak. Equity markets around the world rose on speculation that central banks will cut interest rates to soften the economic blow of […] Read more

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

U.S. livestock: CME cattle rise in recovery from contract lows

Hogs close mixed as China uncertainty looms

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Monday recovered from contract lows reached last week as concerns temporarily eased about the economic impact from the global coronavirus outbreak. Equity markets also rose on speculation that central banks will cut interest rates to soften the economic blow of the epidemic. “The market […] Read more


(t-lorien/Getty Images)

CME to raise hog futures trading limits as swine fever fuels volatility

New daily limit of 3.75 U.S. cents proposed for mid-April

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — CME Group said Thursday it plans to increase daily trading limits for its lean hog futures in April, then adjust them annually because of heightened volatility linked to the outbreak of a fatal pig disease in China. The spread of African swine fever in China, the world’s biggest pork consumer, has […] Read more

A worker checks the temperature of a passenger arriving into Hong Kong International Airport with an infrared thermometer on Feb. 7, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Hannah McKay)

Coronavirus disrupts China meat imports, food supplies

Swine fever has created pork shortage

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Coronavirus is disrupting meat shipments to China as the country faces a shortage due to an outbreak of a fatal pig disease, Tyson Foods Inc and U.S. agricultural groups said on Thursday. An outbreak of African swine fever, which infects only pigs, has decimated China’s herd, pushing Chinese pork prices to […] Read more


Mosquito control would be one of the few uses still allowed for chlorpyrifos under a proposal from Health Canada’s PMRA. (Tskstock/iStock/Getty Images)

Corteva to stop making Lorsban

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Corteva will stop producing the agricultural pesticide chlorpyrifos by the end of the year, the company said on Thursday, removing the world’s largest manufacturer of a chemical that has been linked to low birth weight, reduced IQ and attention disorders in children. Corteva, spun off last year after a merger of […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

U.S. EPA reaffirms glyphosate does not cause cancer

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday it finished a regulatory review that found glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide in the United States, is not a carcinogen. The conclusion reaffirms the agency’s stance on glyphosate, the key ingredient in Bayer’s Roundup, despite judgments by U.S. juries that have found […] Read more


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

U.S. livestock: Hogs limit down to contract lows

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures sank by their daily trading limit to contract lows on Thursday under pressure from hefty supplies and fears about the spreading coronavirus outbreak. Cattle futures also hit multi-month lows. U.S. hog supplies are large after farmers expanded their herds to supply new processing plants. But traders are now […] Read more

CBOT March 2020 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day mopving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans set eight-month low

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell for an eighth consecutive session on Thursday and hit an eight-month low as the rising toll from the coronavirus outbreak in China added to concerns about Chinese demand for American crops. Wheat also eased and set a three-week low on the Chicago Board of Trade as the […] Read more