Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Friday settled mixed after a choppy session. August live cattle futures closed up 0.2 cent at 123.9 cents per pound and October settled at 127.925 cents, off 0.175 cent (all figures US$). Rising wholesale beef prices and higher cash cattle prices encouraged CME live cattle August futures buyers. […] Read more
CME live cattle mixed, Merck news lifts back months
Merck halts Zilmax sales, to study cattle feed additive
U.S. drugmaker Merck and Co. said on Friday it is temporarily suspending sales of its Zilmax animal feed additive in the U.S. and Canada following concerns about use of the product, which is given to cattle to increase their weight before slaughter. Zilmax has been the focus of attention in the livestock industry since Tyson […] Read more
Slumping cash, pork prices drop CME hogs to four-month low
Chicago Mercantile Exchange hogs Thursday slumped to a four-month low on profit taking following lower cash hog and wholesale pork prices, traders and analysts said. The wide disparity between the new lead-month October contract and the spot August trading month, which expired on Wednesday at 102.425 cents, played a role in futures’ sizeable drop on […] Read more
CME hogs climb on futures’ discount to cash prices
Chicago Mercantile Exchange hogs rose for a third consecutive session, driven by futures’ discount to cash hog prices, traders and analysts said. CME spot-August hogs followed the exchange’s hog index at 102.23 cents into the spot-month expiration at noon CT. The contract closed at 102.425 cents per pound, or up 0.625 cents (all figures US$). […] Read more
Cash optimism lifts U.S. live cattle to six-month high
Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures hit a six-month high on Tuesday in anticipation of higher cash prices this week, traders and analysts said. There were no cash cattle bids or asking prices reported by feedlot sources as of Tuesday. Last week, cash cattle in Texas and Kansas moved at $121 per hundredweight (cwt), feedlot […] Read more
CME live cattle futures rally with cash, beef prices
Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Monday rallied with higher cash prices and improved wholesale beef values, traders and analysts said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday morning quoted the wholesale price, or cutout, of choice beef at $190.03 per hundredweight (cwt), up $1.04 from Friday (all figures US$). Select cuts were 63 […] Read more
Tyson takes lead with Zilmax ban, higher beef prices may follow
When top U.S. meat packer Tyson Foods abruptly announced it would stop buying cattle fed with a widely used drug that can add more than 30 pounds to the average steer, the implications for markets were clear: less meat, higher prices. Tyson, which buys about one in four of all U.S. cattle for slaughter, says […] Read more
U.S. live cattle futures slip on profit-taking
Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Friday dipped on profit-taking, a day after surging to a three-month high after Tyson Foods said it would no longer buy cattle given the feed additive Zilmax, traders and analysts said. In a letter to feedlot operators, Tyson Foods, the country’s largest meat processor, said it will suspend […] Read more
Tyson ban drives Chicago cattle futures to three-month high
Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Thursday hit a three-month high fueled by speculation that beef prices could rise after Tyson Foods said it would no longer buy cattle given the feed additive Zilmax. In a letter, Tyson Foods, the country’s largest meat processor, notified all feedlot operators it would suspend Zilmax-fed cattle purchases […] Read more
Tyson to suspend buying cattle fed Zilmax
Tyson Foods, the largest U.S. meat processor, said it would suspend purchases of cattle fed the growth enhancer Zilmax, saying it was worried about cases of cattle with difficulty walking although it did not know the specific cause of problem. Rumours of Tyson’s action sparked a sharp rally in Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures on […] Read more
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