Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures fell on Wednesday for a seventh straight session, led by lower market-ready, or cash, hog prices, traders said. The morning’s hog price in Iowa/Minnesota fell $2.41 per hundredweight (cwt) from Tuesday to $111.72, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (all figures US$). “The trade is […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Fallen cash prices extend CME hogs’ losses
Toronto’s Quality Meat Packers officially bankrupt
One of the last remnants of Toronto’s “Hogtown” past has formally gone bankrupt, in a move expected to permanently close the doors and strip out the assets at Quality Meat Packers and its Toronto Abattoirs arm. The two pork-packing and -processing companies in early April filed a notice of intention for a proposal to restructure […] Read more
EU toughens rules on imports in response to PEDv
Brussels/Paris | Reuters — European Union officials on Tuesday agreed on new rules for the treatment of imported pigs’ blood for use in animal feed, but decided against changing the rules on importing live pigs even though a deadly virus has caused major losses to the U.S. pig industry. In a statement, the European Commission […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME feeder cattle hit all-time high as calf prices firm
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange feeder cattle futures on Tuesday hit an all-time high, supported by firm prices for young calves, or feeder cattle, traders said. Feedlots are paying more for calves after years of drought in parts of the U.S. shrank the herd to a 63-year low. Gains in CME’s live cattle […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle sag on profit-taking
Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle finished lower on Monday, pressured by profit-taking that erased Friday’s gains pegged to steady-to-better market-ready or cash cattle prices, traders said. Monday was a day to evaluate this week’s cash cattle sales and subsequent wholesale beef prices, said Archer Financial Services broker Dennis Smith. Last Friday, […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle end lower after volatile day
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures ended lower on Friday after a choppy session, dragged down by profit-taking that trumped steady-to-higher prices for market-ready or cash cattle, traders said. On Friday, cash cattle in Texas traded at $146 per hundredweight (cwt), up $1 from last week, feedlot sources said. Cash cattle […] Read more
CME fines Ont. Teachers for hog trades
Chicago | Reuters — The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, which manages investments for Canada’s largest single-profession pension plan, violated speculative position limits in CME Group’s lean hog futures market, the exchange operator said Friday. Chicago-based CME fined the board $15,000 and ordered it give up nearly $18,000 in profits for exceeding position limits on […] Read more
France to ban pigs, byproducts from N. America, Japan over PED
Paris | Reuters –– France will ban imports of live pigs, pork-based byproducts and pig sperm from the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Japan to protect against a virus that has killed millions of piglets in North America and Asia, a farm ministry official said on Friday. The ban, which is due to be introduced on […] Read more
Maple Leaf books Q1 loss under PEDv cost pressure
A rise in pork prices due mainly to porcine epidemic diarrhea’s effects on the U.S. hog herd has bit deeper into Maple Leaf Foods’ bottom line for its first quarter ending March 31. “Pork markets have been impacted in an unprecedented way due to a virus in the U.S. hog industry, which has renewed pressure […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME feeder cattle at record high on strong calf prices
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange feeder cattle futures on Thursday closed at an all-time high, with some contracts up by the three-cent price limit, fueled by costly prices for young calves for fattening, traders said. Prices for light-weight feeder cattle are “on fire,” said Jim Clarkson, a broker with A+A Trading Inc. This […] Read more