Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures closed sharply higher on Monday, with most months up the three-cent daily price limit as investors covered short positions after learning a pig virus has hit the U.S. hog herd harder than expected, traders said. Friday’s U.S. Department of Agriculture hog report showed a bigger-than-expected decline […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME hogs jump as virus takes big toll on U.S. herd
PEDv shrinks March-May U.S. hog herd more than expected
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — The U.S. hog herd shrank more than anticipated in the March-May quarter as a deadly pig virus swept through farms, a U.S. Department of Agriculture report showed on Friday. The data also showed that despite higher hog prices in the wake of the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv), producers had not expanded herds […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME hogs up on short-covering before USDA report
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures closed higher on Friday, supported by short-covering and positioning before the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s quarterly hog report at 2 p.m. CT, traders said. Analysts expect Friday’s data to show the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus hurt U.S. hog supplies while high hog prices fueled herd expansion. […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cash price outlook lift CME live cattle to record high
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Thursday hit their highest level ever in anticipation of strong prices for market-ready, or cash, cattle led by record-high beef values, traders said. “Retail beef demand has been on a tear while feeding the bulls in the cattle pit, increasing packer margins and causing […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Profit-taking drags down CME hog futures
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures fell hard on profit-taking after spiking to a new high driven by record-high wholesale pork values and strong prices for slaughter-ready hogs, traders said. Wednesday morning’s wholesale pork price, or cutout, surged $2.51 per hundredweight (cwt) from Tuesday to $134.04, surpassing the April record of $133.74, […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Strong cash, pork prices push CME hogs to new high
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures soared to a new high on Tuesday after tight supplies forced packers to hike bids for market-ready animals, traders said. CME live cattle futures also closed up sharply led by select beef prices that hit an all-time high amid tight supplies, the traders said. Hog processors […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Tight supply outlook drives CME live cattle higher
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures closed higher on Monday after Friday’s government report confirmed tight supplies ahead, traders said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture cattle-on-feed report showed a seven per cent drop in the number of animals placed in U.S. feedlots in May. “We suspect the seven per cent decline […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle futures slide before USDA report
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle ended lower on Friday, on profit-taking ahead of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s cattle-on-feed report Friday afternoon, traders said. USDA’s report is expected to show the number of cattle placed in feedlots in May declined from a year ago as high-priced calves deterred feedyards from buying […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Strong cash prices rally CME live cattle
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle finished higher on Thursday in response to stronger-than-expected prices for market-ready or cash cattle, traders said. Cash cattle in Texas and Kansas moved at $150 per hundredweight (cwt), up $2 from last week, according to feedlot sources (all figures US$). Investors had anticipated weaker cash returns […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME feeder cattle limit down on profit-taking
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange feeder cattle futures on Wednesday settled down their three-cent daily price limit on profit-taking, traders said. Lower live cattle future and fund liquidation hastened CME feeder cattle losses, they said. Feeder cattle futures reflect worries about how to make high-priced calves work with current market-ready cattle values and […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
