Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures hit a two-week high on Tuesday, with the benchmark December contract rising its daily limit of three cents per pound on optimism about increasing pork demand from China, traders said. Food prices in China have soared, driven mainly by a sharp increase in pork values after deadly […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Lean hogs limit up on optimism for Chinese pork demand

Trump’s hailing of Chinese farm purchases seen as ‘meaningless’
Reading Time: 3 minutes Beijing | Reuters — China is still a long way from forking out US$50 billion for farm goods from the United States, agriculture industry analysts said on Monday, cautioning that getting there is contingent on removing substantial technical and political hurdles. Outlining the first phase of a deal to end a trade war with China, […] Read more

U.S. grains: Soybeans climb on weather worries
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures neared a four-month high on Monday, supported by fears that wintry weather over the weekend threatened Midwest production at a time of tightening U.S. soy supplies, analysts said. Wheat futures firmed on short-covering and worries about frosty temperatures in the U.S. Plains wheat belt, while corn ended steady, […] Read more

U.S. farmers cheered by apparent trade truce
Reading Time: 3 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. farmers cheered the Trump administration’s announcement of a potentially dramatic increase in U.S. agricultural sales to China on Friday but warned they needed to see a follow-through of actual purchases. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the agricultural purchases could scale up to $40 billion-$50 billion annually as part of a […] Read more

U.S. grains: Corn jumps four per cent
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures surged more than four per cent on Friday while wheat and soybeans also firmed, buoyed by expectations for a partial U.S.-China trade deal and worries about wintry weather threatening crops in the Midwest, analysts said. Chicago Board of Trade December corn settled up 17-1/2 cents at $3.97-3/4 a […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Hog futures up on trade progress, firm cash
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures rose more than one per cent on Friday, following broad strength in commodities tied to hopes for a U.S.-China trade deal, along with firm cash values for hogs and pork, analysts said. Chicago Mercantile Exchange benchmark December lean hog futures settled up 1.125 cents at 69.6 cents/lb. […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Hogs slip despite record-large pork sales to China
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures sagged on Thursday as the confirmation of record-large weekly pork export sales to China failed to impress traders who have been expecting a surge in demand for months. Uncertainty about when the pork will be shipped to China also kept a lid on gains, traders said. The […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs rise on China trade optimism
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures closed higher on Wednesday for a second straight session on hopes that U.S. trade talks with China, at a time of surging Chinese pork prices, could bolster U.S. pork exports, traders said. CME December lean hog futures settled up 2.075 cents at 69.475 cents/lb., just […] Read more

U.S. grains: Soybeans up on trade optimism, Midwest weather
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures climbed to their highest level in nearly three months on Wednesday before paring gains, supported by optimism about increased Chinese purchases and fears that a winter storm in the upper U.S. Midwest could threaten late-maturing crops. Corn closed modestly lower and wheat was little changed, with both commodities […] Read more

Allegations of U.S. peas, lentils passed off as Canadian
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — A company in the United States has alleged there are green peas and green lentils being shipped from the U.S. to Canada, then exported to China and India as being Canadian. Jeff Van Pevenage, president of Columbia Grain at Portland, Ore., first made the allegations to the Western Producer in September. He said […] Read more