An investigation into accounting practices in Archer-Daniels-Midland's ADM.N Nutrition segment could not come at a worse time for the company as sinking crop prices look set to erode profit for its core grain trading and processing businesses this year.

Accounting probe hits ADM as crop glut, lower margins point to tough 2024
ADM shares fell 24 per cent Monday as news of accounting issues broke

U.S. grains: Soybeans rally as Argentina seeks to raise meal, oil export taxes
Good export demand also underpinned soybeans
U.S. soybean futures clawed back early losses and ended higher on Monday on good U.S. export demand and after Argentina's new government said it would raise export taxes on soymeal and soyoil in the world's supplier of the soy products.

Panama Canal drought to delay grain ships well into 2024
Wait times more than doubled between October and late November, prompting some shippers to reroute
Bulk grain shippers hauling crops from the U.S. Gulf Coast export hub to Asia are sailing longer routes and paying higher freight costs to avoid vessel congestion and record-high transit fees in the drought-hit Panama Canal, traders and analysts said.

U.S. Livestock: CME cattle down sharply on fund selling, ending near week’s lows
CME lean hog futures followed cattle contracts lower
Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures plunged for a second straight session on Friday on fund long liquidation, closing out a volatile week of trading in the livestock pits with prices for live and feeder cattle contracts ending near the week's lows.

U.S. livestock: CME cattle drop on fund selling, beef demand concerns
Chicago lean hogs continue higher
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures dropped on Thursday after two sessions of gains, pressured by fund long liquidation and as higher corn feed prices and worries about demand for high-priced beef cuts hung over the market. Technical selling accelerated the break, the live cattle market’s sixth in the last eight sessions, […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME cattle gain for second straight day after selloff
Chicago lean hog futures also firm
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures rose for a second consecutive session on Wednesday on short covering and follow-through technical and bargain buying after the market plunged to multi-month lows to start the week. Improving packer margins and futures’ steep discount to cash cattle prices also supported the market following the fund-selling […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME cattle up on short covering, discount to cash
Short covering also lifts CME hogs
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures surged on Tuesday in a short-covering rebound from multi-month lows in the prior session, supported by the market’s steep discount to cash market prices. Feeder cattle futures rose by as much as the daily trading limit, triggering expanded limits for both feeders and live cattle for […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Fund selling sends CME cattle to multi-month lows
February hogs touch contract low
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures tumbled sharply for a second straight session on Monday on fund long liquidation, technical selling and concerns about slowing beef demand and rising supplies. Actively traded February live cattle dropped to an eight-month low while several deferred-month contracts posted life-of-contract lows. January feeder cattle plunged more […] Read more

Bunge seeks antitrust approvals for Viterra merger in major jurisdictions
Commodities market competition healthy in Canada, U.S., CEO says
Minneapolis | Reuters — Bunge has filed for regulatory approvals for its merger with crop handler Viterra in “major jurisdictions” in North and South America, Europe and China, and has gotten the green light from some of its smaller markets including Colombia, CEO Greg Heckman said on Thursday. The merger, which would create a company […] Read more

Low water on Mississippi to persist despite improved drought outlook
Risk of getting stuck mean less grain per barge
Chicago | Reuters — Low water levels on the lower Mississippi River are likely to persist through at least January despite expected above-normal precipitation across the southern U.S. this winter, forecasters with the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said on Thursday. The severe to exceptional drought choking the lower Mississippi River valley is expected to […] Read more