Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) closed higher on Tuesday in a technical rebound after Monday’s limit-down close, with firm cash hog values lending support, traders said. Technical traders were encouraged that the benchmark June hog contract was able to hold above Monday’s low, a supportive chart […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Lean hog futures bounce, cattle end lower
New Mexican duties against U.S. ready soon, minister says
Reading Time: < 1 minute Toronto | Reuters — Mexico is finalizing duties to impose on new U.S. products in retaliation for the Trump administration’s steel and aluminum tariffs and details should be available soon, Economy Minister Graciela Marquez said on Tuesday. Mexico and Canada have both imposed retaliatory measures on billions of dollars of U.S. goods. Mexico said in […] Read more
Trump says more farm aid coming amid China trade war
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — President Donald Trump said on Monday that his administration was planning to provide about US$15 billion in aid to help U.S. farmers whose products may be targeted with tariffs by China amid a deepening trade war. “We’re going to take the highest year, the biggest purchase that China has ever made […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soy futures break 10-year low on China trade tensions
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures tumbled to their lowest prices in more than a decade on Thursday as traders worried that make-or-break trade talks between Washington and Beijing would fail to produce a deal. Corn and wheat futures also fell as a two-day U.S.-China trade meeting was set to begin in Washington. President […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soy futures stabilize, eyeing China trade talks
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures crept higher on Tuesday as traders breathed a sigh of relief over confirmation that a top Chinese negotiator will visit the United States for trade talks this week. Corn and wheat futures also strengthened at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). Traders are monitoring any news on trade […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans plunge after Trump tariff threat against China
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade soybean and corn futures plummeted to new contract lows on Monday — with soy plunging to the lowest levels seen in nearly eight months — after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would raise tariffs on Chinese goods this week, clouding prospects for a trade settlement between […] Read more
Fed-up Canada tells U.S. to help with China crisis or forget about favours
Reading Time: 3 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — Canada is leaning on the United States to help settle a dispute with China, which has started to block imports of vital Canadian commodities amid a dispute over a detained Huawei executive. In a sign of increasing frustration at what it sees as a lacklustre U.S. response, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s […] Read more
Bernie Sanders promises help for family farms
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — U.S. presidential contender Bernie Sanders unveiled a plan on Sunday to help family farmers and rural residents, promising to break up corporate agricultural monopolies and invest heavily in social and economic programs in struggling rural communities. Sanders, an independent U.S. senator and fierce corporate critic, said on a campaign trip to Iowa that […] Read more
North Korea faces food crisis after poor harvest, UN says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Geneva | Reuters — Four in 10 North Koreans are chronically short of food and further cuts to already minimal rations are expected after the worst harvest in a decade, the United Nations said on Friday. Official rations are down to 300 grams (10.6 ounces) per person per day, the lowest ever for this time […] Read more
No fresh aid package for U.S. farmers planned for now, Perdue says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — The Trump administration does not have any active plans to provide more aid to farmers at the moment but can consider the option if the trade negotiations and weak commodity prices linger, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said on Tuesday. “We have been very clear to the agriculture community that […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
