Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures jumped on Wednesday on concerns about shrinking crop production estimates in countries from France and Russia to Argentina, traders said. Prices approached a one-month high at the Chicago Board of Trade as adverse weather and lower-than-expected plantings have reduced expectations for harvests in major exporters. The neighbouring corn […] Read more
U.S. grains: CBOT wheat hits one-month high
Global wheat production estimates shrink; U.S. crop report due out Friday
U.S. grains: Corn, soy slip on less-threatening weather
CBOT wheat futures rise
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures eased on Tuesday as weather forecasts looked less threatening to America’s crops than they had a day earlier, analysts said. Traders took profits after soybean futures reached a four-month high on Monday on concerns that hot, dry conditions could threaten crop yields in the U.S. Midwest. […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Large supplies push cattle, hogs mostly lower
Over 17,000 cases of COVID in packing plant workers, U.S. CDC reports
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle and hog futures ended mostly lower on Tuesday under pressure from large supplies, analysts said. Live cattle futures retreated a day after nearing a two-month high, while feeder cattle pulled back after reaching their highest price in month than a month on Monday. “We’ve gotten a bit overbought on […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Live cattle jump to two-month high
Lean hogs up on bargain buying
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures on Monday reached a two-month high on follow-through buying from last week, while lean hog futures edged up on bargain buying, traders said. Cattle futures are extending a recovery after recently regaining a premium over cash prices, traders said. Technical buying helped support the futures market even […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans hit four-month high on hot, dry weather
CBOT corn futures near 3-1/2-month peak
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures rose on Monday as expectations for unfavourably hot, dry weather increased concerns over the crops, after the federal government said last week that U.S. farmers planted fewer acres than expected. Soybeans touched a four-month high and corn traded near last week’s 3-1/2-month peak as the markets […] Read more
U.S. senators question packers over exports to China during pandemic
USDA shows record pork exports to China in April, raising questions about rising U.S. meat prices
Chicago | Reuters — Two prominent U.S. Senate Democrats are pressing America’s top meatpackers to disclose by month’s end how much pork, beef and chicken they shipped to China during the coronavirus outbreak while warning of possible meat shortages at home. The request from Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker increases scrutiny of companies such […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle futures, beef prices decline
Lean hogs up amid technical buying
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures fell Thursday as boxed beef prices tumbled under pressure from rising production. Beef output has increased as meat companies increase slaughtering after temporarily closing processing plants in April and May because of outbreaks of the COVID-19 coronavirus among workers. Processors killed an estimated 120,000 cattle on Thursday, […] Read more
U.S. meatpacking workers often absent after plants ordered to reopen
"There's still so many risks"
Chicago/Washington | Reuters — Smithfield Foods is missing about a third of its employees at a South Dakota pork plant because they are quarantined or afraid to return to work after a severe coronavirus outbreak, according to the workers’ union. Tyson Foods was forced to briefly close its Storm Lake, Iowa plant — a month […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Live cattle futures touch one-month low
Improving production pressures hog futures
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures dropped to their lowest price in more than a month on Friday, weighed down by expectations for increasing meat production. Beef output has improved as slaughterhouses have resumed operations after closing temporarily in April and May due to outbreaks of the new coronavirus among plant workers. The […] Read more
Coronavirus threatens Chicago’s last remaining trading pits
Grain options pits remain closed, for now
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago brokers and traders worry COVID-19 will kill more of the city’s once famous shout-and-gesture trading pits. CME Group, which owns the Chicago Board of Trade, said this week that most of the pits it closed in March because of the pandemic will remain shuttered indefinitely. The news disappointed some brokers […] Read more
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