Reuters — Some ethanol producers worldwide said demand is up for their products due to customers stockpiling hand sanitizer — which can be made using the biofuel — as the coronavirus outbreak worsens. The COVID-19 coronavirus has infected more than 110,000 people in 105 countries and territories and 3,800 have died, according to a Reuters […] Read more

Ethanol makers see demand surge on hand sanitizer stockpiling

U.S. grains: Soy, wheat, corn close lower after early gains
Traders focus on signs of tepid demand from China
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean, corn and wheat futures fell on Friday, with all three commodities facing pressure after rising early in the session. Soybean futures hit their highest in more than three weeks after the U.S. Agriculture Department at its annual Outlook Forum projected domestic soybean ending stocks for the 2020-21 marketing year […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME hog futures firm
Cattle contracts ease
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures ended higher on Friday on a mild technical bounce while cattle contracts weakened. Feeder cattle contracts were under pressure from profit-taking following six straight days of gains that pushed the front-month contract to its highest since Jan. 30. CME lean hog futures for April delivery ended […] Read more

U.S. grains: Soy futures fall on China demand concerns
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures drifted lower for the third time in four sessions on Thursday as demand from China remained quiet, stirring fresh concerns that purchases from the world’s top oilseed buyer will fall due to the spread of the coronavirus. Corn futures also weakened, pressured by a bearish U.S. acreage forecast, […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Hogs weaken on profit taking, cattle mixed
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures fell from a 3-1/2 week high on Thursday on a round of mild profit-taking following four straight days of gains. Live cattle futures also were lower while feeder cattle contracts edged higher, their sixth straight day of gains. CME lean hog futures for April delivery ended […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Hogs rally again, cattle up on cash strength
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures rose to their highest in 3-1/2 weeks on Wednesday as traders anticipated a long-awaited boost to demand from China, a day after the world’s top pork consumer announced it would grant exemptions to tariffs on U.S. imports. “We don’t know what the quantities will be,” said Mike Sands, […] Read more

U.S. grains: Wheat, corn ease after rallies
Chicago soybean futures firm
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat and corn futures fell on Wednesday on profit taking from the previous session’s strong rally, grain dealers said. Bargain buying pulled the grain contracts from their session lows ahead of the close. “Yesterday was probably a little overdone in the wheat market,” said Jim Gerlach, president of Indiana-based A/C […] Read more

U.S. grains: Wheat futures rally, pull corn higher
Chicago soybean futures weaken
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures surged 4.5 per cent on Tuesday, their biggest gain since May, as cuts to the harvest outlook in Australia bolstered prospects for U.S. exports, traders said. The rally in wheat, which closed near session highs as technical buyers entered the market after the early strength, underpinned the corn […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Hogs rally with hopes for exports to China
Cattle market similarly hopeful
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures rose 2.1 per cent on Tuesday on hopes for increased demand from China as the world’s top pork consumer announced plans to begin issuing tariff-free import licenses. China will grant exemptions on retaliatory duties imposed against 696 U.S. goods, the most substantial tariff relief to be offered so […] Read more

Ethanol woes spur new feed focus for Green Plains
Biofuel maker to reinvent itself as DDGS-based feed maker
Chicago | Reuters — Green Plains Inc., one of the biggest U.S. ethanol producers, is planning to flip its business model upside down to survive a crash in prices for the corn-based fuel. The company will invest some $400 million in the next two to three years at its 13 plants to make high-protein, corn-based […] Read more