Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. live cattle futures scaled to their highest point in 5-1/2 months on Wednesday as tighter-than-expected beef stocks and rising cash beef prices triggered active fund buying that took prices through key technical resistance levels. Actively traded contracts posted their strongest gains in nearly a month, breaking out of a narrow […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Live cattle jump as beef stocks tighten, funds buy
U.S. grains: Harvest pace drags on corn, soybeans
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures ended flat on Wednesday as optimism that China would significantly increase U.S. export purchases after offering to waive tariffs was overshadowed by a lack of confirmed buying and an accelerating U.S. harvest. Corn was also flat on harvest pressure and limited demand, while wheat firmed in a modest […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans firm on Chinese trade prospects
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures firmed on Tuesday on hopes of fresh export sales to China after Beijing gave major crushers waivers to import U.S. soybeans without retaliatory tariffs. Futures, however, drifted from early highs as new export deals failed to materialize and as farmers took advantage of the price spike to sell […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Lean hogs drop on burdensome supply, export jitters
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures slumped on Tuesday, pressured by abundant near-term hog supplies and concerns that U.S. pork export demand would not be large enough to absorb the expected surplus of meat produced. Hopes for a jump in Chinese demand for U.S. pork have supported hog futures at times in recent […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat eases in profit-taking setback
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures declined on Monday on profit taking after three sessions of gains, on concerns about weather-reduced Southern Hemisphere crops that had lifted the market to multi-month highs. Soybeans were mixed amid worries about reduced yields and late harvesting, while corn drifted lower on dull demand. Both markets remained in […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Lean hogs end mostly higher
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures closed mostly higher on Monday as hopes for rising demand for U.S. pork exports, particularly from China, more than offset near-term pressure from plentiful hog supplies. Investor caution kept hog futures in a narrow trading range following a roller-coaster session on Friday in which the market surged […] Read more
U.S. farmers cheered by apparent trade truce
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. livestock: CME lean hogs recover on bargain buying, trade hopes
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures rallied on Tuesday in a technical and bargain-buying rebound from one-month lows amid hopes that China would step up U.S. pork imports as the country’s domestic pork prices have soared. The hog herd in China, the world’s largest pork market, has been decimated by African […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans down on China trade pessimism
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell more than one per cent on Friday to the lowest in a week on rising doubts about a breakthrough in U.S.-China trade talks and forecasts for favourable crop weather across the U.S. Midwest. Corn and wheat also declined, following soybeans, although both grains closed with modest weekly […] Read more
Hopes for trade breakthrough fade as China cancels U.S. farm visits
Chicago | Reuters — A U.S.-China trade deal appeared elusive on Friday after Chinese officials unexpectedly canceled a visit to farms in Montana and Nebraska amid two days of ongoing talks in Washington. Chinese officials were expected to visit U.S. farmers next week as a goodwill gesture, but canceled to return to China sooner than […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
