Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures fell on Friday to the lowest point since late 2002 on tumbling pork prices and slowing slaughter rates as measures to control the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic shuttered schools and restaurants and sent U.S. unemployment rates soaring. Cattle futures also dropped as wholesale beef and cash feedlot cattle prices […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Hog futures hit 17-1/2-year low
Cattle also sink as virus measures disrupt markets

U.S. livestock: Hog futures drop to 3-1/2 year low
Cattle also limit down on coronavirus pandemic
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures dropped to a 3-1/2 year low on Thursday while cattle tumbled as recession concerns and surging U.S. unemployment due to the coronavirus pandemic triggered broad liquidation across the battered livestock markets. Both live and feeder cattle and lean hogs dropped by their daily trading limits for a second […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hogs limit down on coronavirus fears
Market has to 'reevaluate' supply/demand picture
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. livestock futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) plunged by their daily trading limits on Wednesday as stricter coronavirus emergency measures hammered stock markets and deepened worries about a global recession. Live cattle futures dropped for the fourth time in five sessions, erasing all of the prior session’s gains, while […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures jump in end-of-month, -quarter rebound
Lean hog futures up in most months
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures rallied by as much as the daily three-cent trading limit on Tuesday in an end-of-month and end-of-quarter profit-taking bounce following a steep drop fueled by concerns about the fast-spreading coronavirus and its economic impact. The recent dive in prices as governments imposed stay-at-home orders and restrictions on […] Read more

U.S. livestock: April hogs limit down, cattle ease
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures on Monday sank by an expanded daily limit and cattle futures weakened on increased concerns that slaughterhouses will close due to the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Traders worry that shutdowns could back up supplies of livestock by removing markets for the animals. Canada’s largest hog producer, […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Hog, cattle futures dive as volatile trade continues
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures tumbled on Friday, with several contracts falling the expanded daily limit of 4.5 U.S. cents/lb. on worries about a slowdown in demand for pork and fears that the coronavirus could shutter slaughterhouses, potentially backing up hog supplies, traders said. Chicago Mercantile Exchange June lean hog futures settled […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Hogs limit down as grocery panic eases
Widespread layoffs raise concern over beef demand
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures fell their daily three-cent limit on Thursday on signs that a consumer meat-buying frenzy has cooled, allowing traders to re-focus on plentiful U.S. hog and pork supplies, traders said. The benchmark June lean hog futures contract on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange settled down three cents at 68.75 […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures end mostly lower
Hogs also ease as rally pauses
Chicago | Reuters — Benchmark June live cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange closed lower on Wednesday for the first time in five sessions as the market paused after a sharp rally driven by soaring retail beef prices. Wholesale beef prices jumped and packer profit margins skyrocketed this week as the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Cattle limit up on beef demand, strong packer margins
Cash hog prices up, pork cutout down
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures settled up their expanded daily limit on Tuesday as traders continued to react to soaring profit margins for beef packers that should lift prices in the cash cattle market this week. Retail demand for meat has surged as fears of the COVID-19 coronavirus prompt consumers to stock […] Read more

Klassen: Feeder market remains vulnerable
Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle prices were quite variable. Compared to seven days earlier, Alberta feeder prices were unchanged to $5 lower; however, the markets in northern Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba were down $5 to as much as $10 in some cases. Weakness in the yearling markets spilled over into the lighter […] Read more