Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. livestock futures remained mostly sluggish on Monday at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange as traders wrestled with strengthening grain prices, tight supplies of market-ready cattle, and visions of a glut of hogs straining U.S. slaughterhouse capacity in the coming months. Livestock futures trading was relatively light on an historic day at […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hog supplies, post-holiday slump cool CME futures
U.S. livestock: Hogs near three-week high on export optimism
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. lean hog futures rose as much as two per cent on Thursday, lifted by large weekly pork export sales and hopes a deal between JBS USA and Cargill could lead to more international shipments, traders and analysts said. Volume was light in an abbreviated session ahead of the U.S. July […] Read more
JBS to buy Cargill’s U.S. pork assets for US$1.45B
Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters — JBS SA, the world’s largest meat packer, is buying Cargill’s U.S. pork business for US$1.45 billion, free of debt, it said in a statement on Wednesday, a deal that would make it one of the largest and most powerful meat companies in the U.S. The bid by the company’s JBS USA subsidiary comes […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Strong cash prices drive CME live cattle limit-up
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures closed up their three cent/lb. maximum daily price limit on Wednesday, ignited by short-covering in response to better-than-expected cash prices, traders said. August and October finished at 151.075 and 153.7 cents, respectively (all figures US$). The CME live cattle trading limit will be expanded to […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Corn prices drop CME feeder cattle limit down
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Thinly traded Chicago Mercantile Exchange feeder cattle futures closed down their 4.5-cent/lb. maximum daily limit on Tuesday, responding to steep corn market gains, traders said. Chicago Board of Trade corn futures jumped nearly eight per cent after the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s bullish grain report. Pricey corn could increase input costs […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle rebound on short-covering
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle closed higher on Monday, supported by short-covering before the final trading session of the quarter on Tuesday, analysts said. June, which will also expire on Tuesday, finished 1.275 cents/lb. higher at 149.675 cents, and August up 1.35 cents, to 149.875 cents (all figures US$). “I think […] Read more
Less-potent pig virus fuels U.S. hog herd growth, but rate slows
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — The U.S. hog herd grew nine per cent during the March-May quarter compared with a year ago, a U.S. Department of Agriculture report showed on Friday, reflecting better measures to combat a deadly pig virus which resulted in record pigs per litter, analysts said. However, weaker hog prices last quarter eroded farmer profits […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME hogs gain on short covering before USDA report
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures closed higher on Friday, supported by short covering before the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s quarterly hog report expected at 2 p.m. CT, traders said. Analysts expect Friday’s report to show further herd expansion during the March through May quarter compared with a year earlier. “The […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME feeder cattle limit down as corn prices jump
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Lightly-traded Chicago Mercantile Exchange feeder cattle futures closed down their 4.5-cent per pound maximum daily limit on Thursday following double-digit corn market gains, traders said. Chicago Board of Trade corn futures surged as much as three per cent on worries heavy rainfall could reduce U.S. Midwest crop belt yield potential. High-priced […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle extend losses, hogs mixed
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle losses on Tuesday spilled over into Wednesday, pressured by sell stops and fund liquidation despite sharply higher wholesale beef values, traders said. June closed 1.325 cents per pound lower at 150.675 cents (all figures US$). August finished down 1.5 cents at 150.325 cents after falling below […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
