Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group lean hog futures fell on Tuesday, amid outside pressure from agricultural markets, despite strength from strong slaughter and cash hog prices. “We just had a risk-off day,” said Matthew Wiegand, Risk Management Consultant at FuturesOne. “Cash trade kicked up and is trading above the board.” The CME’s […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Hog, cattle futures fall despite strong demand
Markets see 'a risk-off day'

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hog futures fall as feed costs rise
Pre-Memorial Day consolidation seen
Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — CME Group hog and cattle futures eased on Friday, with rising soy and corn futures raising feed costs for livestock producers. Traders noted consolidation trade ahead of the U.S. Memorial Day holiday weekend. U.S. grain and livestock markets will be closed on Monday. The nearby June hogs contract fell 0.7 cent, […] Read more

U.S. livestock: June hogs touch four-week high
June, August live cattle futures up slightly
Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — CME Group hog futures rose to their highest level in more than a month on Thursday, supported by strong exports and concerns about a slowing slaughter, traders said. Cattle futures ended the trading day close to unchanged. The U.S. Agriculture Department on Thursday morning said that export sales of pork totaled […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures weaken on cash market pressure
CME hog futures close mixed
Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — CME Group cattle futures dipped on Wednesday, pressured by weakness in the cash markets, traders said. Hog futures were mixed, with prices closing well off their session highs after contracts hit technical resistance. The nearby June hogs contract rose 0.025 cent to 109.05 cents/lb., while most-active July futures fell 1.1 cents, […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Hog futures fall as supplies rise
CME live cattle turn lower
Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — CME hog futures eased on Tuesday, pressured by a government report released after the close on Monday that showed supplies of pork at their highest in two years. The U.S. Agriculture Department on Monday afternoon said that frozen stocks of pork stood at 530.244 million lbs. as of April 30, up […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs firm nearby
Outside markets pressure live cattle
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — CME’s nearby lean hog futures firmed on Tuesday, incentivizing producers to sell market-ready hogs rather than hold them for premiums later in the summer, analysts said. High futures prices “may have encouraged producers to take a little more risk,” said Altin Kalo, economist at Steiner Consulting Group. “When you’ve got such […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs climb, demand uncertainty remains
Chicago cattle futures lower
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — CME lean hog futures firmed for a second session on Thursday, supported by bargain buying, though demand concerns capped gains, analysts said. “We’ve got conflicting fundamentals. Seasonally, hog supplies should continue to tighten into mid-summer. But right now there’s a lot of demand worry,” said Doug Houghton, technical analyst at Brock […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Lean hogs fall to lowest since early February
CME cattle also weak
Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — CME hog futures dropped to their lowest in nearly three months on Friday, pressured by concerns about consumer demand as summer grilling season nears, traders said. Cattle futures also fell. Some end-of-month fund liquidation likely added to the weakness in livestock contracts, traders said. “There is not a whole lot of […] Read more

McDonald’s calls Icahn demands on sourcing pigs ‘unfeasible’
Investor cites company's 10-year-old pledge
Reading Time: 2 minutes Boston | Reuters — McDonald’s Corp on Thursday said Carl Icahn’s call for the fast food chain to stop buying pork from suppliers that house the animals in crates would be logistically unfeasible and prohibitively expensive. The billionaire investor, who owns roughly US$50,000 worth of McDonald’s stock, is pushing the company to change how it […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle hit two-month peak
Rising cash markets support cattle; hogs down for third straight session
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters –– Live cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange jumped to a two-month high on Thursday, led by firming cash cattle markets and optimism about a seasonal climb in U.S. beef demand as the summer grilling season nears, traders said. CME June live cattle futures settled up 1.275 cents at 139.9 cents/lb. […] Read more