Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures firmed and soybeans posted their strongest advance in a month on Tuesday as rising equities and energy markets and a weakening U.S. dollar triggered short-covering in commodities battered by the coronavirus pandemic. Wheat followed corn and soy higher but reversed course amid forecasts for crop-boosting rains in rival […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans firm on China demand, economic optimism
Equities rally as economies reopen, dollar eases
U.S. livestock: June cattle limit up on surging beef prices, meat shortages
Lean hogs down on profit-taking
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures surged by their daily trading limits for a second straight session on Thursday on soaring beef prices and concerns about meat shortages because of recent packing plant closures due to the coronavirus. Shuttered slaughterhouses across North America due to the pandemic have left ranchers nowhere to ship […] Read more
U.S. grains: Futures rebound on Chinese buying, Midwest frost concerns
Freezing forecast raises concern about Midwest crops
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain and soybean futures prices rebounded on Thursday on renewed Chinese buying of corn and soy and as forecasts for sub-freezing temperatures across the country stoked concerns that some vulnerable crops may sustain damage. Gains, however, were tempered by plentiful supplies and worries about demand as traders started positioning ahead […] Read more
Bunge to sell 35 U.S. elevators to Zen-Noh Grain
Chicago | Reuters — Agricultural commodities trader Bunge said on Tuesday it will sell 35 of its interior U.S. grain elevators to Zen-Noh Grain, dramatically reducing its grain origination network in the United States. Financial details of the sale with the subsidiary of Japan’s Zen-Noh Group were not disclosed, and the deal is subject to […] Read more
U.S. announces coronavirus aid for farmers, food buys for poor
Direct payments, mass purchases planned
Chicago | Reuters — President Donald Trump on Friday announced a $19 billion relief program to help U.S. farmers cope with the impact of the coronavirus, including $16 billion in direct payments to producers and mass purchases of meat, dairy, vegetables and other products (all figures US$). The U.S. Agriculture Department is partnering with regional […] Read more
U.S. livestock: June hogs, cattle plunge limit down
COVID-19 shuts more U.S. meat processors
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. livestock futures tumbled on Monday on worries about declining U.S. meat processing capacity after Smithfield Foods announced Sunday it would indefinitely shut one of its pork plants due to novel coronavirus infections among workers. The closure at Sioux Falls, S.D., affecting four to five per cent of U.S. pork production, […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hog futures hit 17-1/2-year low
Cattle also sink as virus measures disrupt markets
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures fell on Friday to the lowest point since late 2002 on tumbling pork prices and slowing slaughter rates as measures to control the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic shuttered schools and restaurants and sent U.S. unemployment rates soaring. Cattle futures also dropped as wholesale beef and cash feedlot cattle prices […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hog futures drop to 3-1/2 year low
Cattle also limit down on coronavirus pandemic
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures dropped to a 3-1/2 year low on Thursday while cattle tumbled as recession concerns and surging U.S. unemployment due to the coronavirus pandemic triggered broad liquidation across the battered livestock markets. Both live and feeder cattle and lean hogs dropped by their daily trading limits for a second […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat tumbles on weak export sales, recession fears
Corn, soybeans rise on crude oil rally, but end mixed
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures fell for a fourth straight session on Thursday, extending prior-day losses that were the worst in 7-1/2 months as weak U.S. export sales data stoked concerns about the coronavirus pandemic destroying demand. Soybeans and corn ended mixed as early short-covering and spillover support from sharply higher crude oil […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle, hogs limit down on coronavirus fears
Market has to 'reevaluate' supply/demand picture
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. livestock futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) plunged by their daily trading limits on Wednesday as stricter coronavirus emergency measures hammered stock markets and deepened worries about a global recession. Live cattle futures dropped for the fourth time in five sessions, erasing all of the prior session’s gains, while […] Read more
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