Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures stepped back on Monday but remained near recent highs as demand optimism persists, supported by tighter hog supplies. As the U.S. economy rebuilds and meat demand at restaurants increases into the summer, analysts expect supplies to remain tight for several months. “The deferred contracts should […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Lean hogs ease but remain near highs
Live cattle follow boxed beef higher
U.S. grains: Corn steps back after export-led rally
Wheat nears three-month low on better U.S. weather; soyoil pulls soybeans higher
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago corn futures dipped on Monday as improving South American crop weather added pressure to prices after export sales on Friday rallied the market. Soybeans were lifted by rallying soyoil futures, while wheat closed barely higher as favourable planting weather in the U.S. Great Plains and the Black Sea region limited […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn rebounds on technicals, sales to China
Soybeans also gain; wheat weak on improving U.S. crop
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures rebounded on Friday in an end-of-week technical and bargain buying bounce from steep losses the previous day. Corn received an additional boost from the U.S. Agriculture Department’s (USDA) confirmation of large sales to China for a fourth straight day, lifting the market to its first weekly […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Lean hogs resume climb on robust demand
Cattle down ahead of USDA report
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures ended mostly higher on Friday, rebounding from sharp declines the previous day as strong pork demand and tight hog supplies extended the market’s recent advance. Hog futures have soared in recent weeks, with April futures touching a 6-1/2 year front-month-contract high on Friday, as traders […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn, soy slump in broad-based commodities selloff
Weekly corn export sales top estimates, China buys more
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures fell on Thursday as a firm U.S. dollar and tumbling energy prices, with crude oil down more than eight per cent, stoked broad selling across commodities markets. The steepest corn and soy declines in more than a week marked a further pullback from recent highs as […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle, hogs follow broader commodities markets lower
"We were a little top heavy coming in"
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle and hog futures posted steep losses in most contracts on Thursday as a broad-based commodities market selloff, led by sinking crude oil and a firmer U.S. dollar, weighed on prices. Fundamental factors for both cattle and hogs remained solid amid strong beef and pork exports and good […] Read more
ICE weekly outlook: Is a bear market next for canola?
Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg | MarketsFarm — The canola market started to retreat this week as unpriced supplies still in the countryside approach non-existent, according to Wayne Palmer, analyst with Exceed Grain in Winnipeg. For the first half of the week of March 15, canola began to lose strength, particularly in old-crop months. That was highlighted at the […] Read more
CBOT weekly outlook: Crop futures in all directions
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Chinese sales of corn and a recent run of good weather in the U.S. are affecting futures on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Wednesday, according to a broker. Ryan Ettner of Chicago-based Allendale Inc. said recent purchases of old-crop corn from China are supporting prices, while prices for new-crop have stayed relatively […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans slide on slowing exports, Argentina rains
USDA confirms more U.S. corn sales to China
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures retreated on Wednesday on slowing export sales as global demand shifts to South American supplies and as U.S. farmers prepare to dramatically increase plantings of the oilseed this spring. Corn futures were mixed, with the nearby contract firming as strong sales to China stoked concerns about tightening supplies. […] Read more
U.S. grains: Nearby corn futures firm as USDA reports big sales to China
CBOT May soybeans, wheat also up
Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures edged higher in actively traded nearby contracts on Tuesday on strong export demand after the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed the largest sales to China since January. Soybean futures were mixed, with nearby prices rising on concerns about South American harvest weather and spillover support from higher spot […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
