Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures, on a continuous lead-month chart basis, marked a record high Thursday for a second straight session after cash prices also topped last week’s record. February ended one cent per pound higher at 135.625 cents, and April finished at 135.8 cents, up 0.5 cent (all figures US$). On Thursday, cash […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle hit new highs with cash prices
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle end lower, up 3.5 per cent for year
Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures settled lower on Tuesday in all contracts except spot December as traders evened positions on the last trading day of 2013, but the market overall posted gains of 3.5 per cent for the year. CME live cattle for December delivery, which expired at noon CT, settled up 0.1 cent […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Beef price hike extends CME live cattle gains
Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Monday landed in positive territory for a third straight session, fuelled by sharply higher wholesale beef prices, traders said. Monday morning’s wholesale price for choice beef rose $2.33 per hundredweight (cwt) from Friday to $199.32, and select surged $3.30 to $194.60, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Strong cash prices drive up CME live cattle
Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures closed higher in light volume on Friday, led by short-covering stirred by better-than-anticipated cash prices, traders said. Cash cattle in Texas moved at mostly $133 per hundredweight (cwt), $3 higher than last week, feedlot sources said (all figures US$). They reported cash sales of mostly $132 in Kansas, up […] Read more
U.S. hog herd dips slightly, with record pigs per litter
The U.S. hog herd held declined slightly in the latest quarter compared to a year earlier, and fell just short of average trade forecasts, a U.S. government report showed on Friday. The data showed producers held a record number of pigs per litter during the period at 10.16 head, up marginally compared with last autumn’s […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle lifted by short covering
Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures closed higher on Thursday on short-covering in an otherwise quiet post-holiday session, traders said. December live cattle futures finished 0.35 cent higher at 132.7 cents per pound, and February gained 0.425 cent at 134.15 cents (all figures US$). Investors await this week’s cash cattle sales, knowing packer margins are […] Read more
U.S. November cattle placements drop
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters / The number of cattle placed in U.S. feedlots in November was down three per cent from a year earlier, the U.S. Agriculture Department said Dec. 20. The decrease was attributed to sufficient wheat pastures that allowed ranchers to graze cattle and keep them out of feedlots, analysts said. Ranchers also held back heifers […] Read more
Pricey calves threaten U.S. feedlot return to profitability
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters / A sharp drop in feed corn prices caused by the huge U.S. harvest last month has put the nation’s cattle feedlots in the black for the first time in more than two years. But analysts warn those profits could soon disappear as the prices they pay for scarce lightweight calves remain near record […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Profit-taking weakens CME live cattle
Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures posted modest losses on Tuesday as investors pocketed profits before the Christmas holiday, traders said. December live cattle futures finished 0.35 cent per pound lower at 132.35 cents, and February ended down 0.225 cent at 133.725 cents (all figures US$). December felt added pressure this week from market anxiety […] Read more
U.S. livestock: USDA report extends CME live cattle gains
Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Monday rose for a third straight session, buoyed by last Friday’s bullish U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly cattle-on-feed report, traders said. Friday’s USDA data showed the number of cattle placed in U.S. feedlots dropped three per cent from a year earlier as improved grazing land allowed ranchers to […] Read more
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