Beijing | Reuters — China has recorded the first human infection with the H3N8 strain of bird flu, the country’s health authority said on Tuesday, but said the risk of it spreading among people was low. A four-year-old boy from central Henan province was found to have been infected with the variant after developing a […] Read more
China reports first human case of H3N8 bird flu
China’s hog output recovers, drags on Brazil pork exports
China's total Q1 pork imports down 64 per cent
Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazilian pork exporters are grappling with a drop in volumes shipped to their main buyer, China, which has increased its pork meat production after an outbreak of African swine fever in 2018. ASF forced China to cull millions of hogs and increase imports. China continued to be Brazil’s top pork […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME hog futures top two-week high
Chicago cattle futures ease
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures rallied to their highest price in more than two weeks on Monday, while live cattle and feeder cattle futures weakened. Hopes for increased domestic demand from summertime grilling and cookouts helped lift hog futures, analysts said. They added that surging grain and soybean futures raised […] Read more
U.S. grains: Crop data awaited as grains fall with other commodities
China COVID-19 cases weigh on markets; grain traders monitor Ukraine news
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat, corn and soybean futures fell on Monday as worries over coronavirus cases in China weighed on commodity markets while grain traders also adjusted positions ahead of key U.S. crop reports due later this week. Crude oil dropped sharply as China’s financial hub, Shanghai, launched a lockdown to contain surging […] Read more
U.S. grains: Export demand boosts soybeans
Corn firm, wheat weak
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures rose for a third consecutive session on Wednesday, hitting their highest in nearly a month on expectations that demand for U.S. supplies will remain strong due to harvest shortfalls in South America, traders said. The crop woes in Argentina and Brazil also lent support to […] Read more
Fuel prices may remain high beyond Russian invasion, expert says
MarketsFarm — The decision by the U.S. to halt the import of Russian petroleum products due to the country’s invasion of Ukraine created sticker shock at the pumps in North America — but an end to that invasion would not necessarily mean an end to high fuel prices. On March 15, the average price of […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat up on Russian export suspension, U.S. drought
Corn futures firm, soy down
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures gained on Tuesday, supported as export curbs by Russia fuelled concerns about global supply, while traders see the recent decline as an opportunity for bargain buying. Soybeans fell in reaction to investor worries that renewed coronavirus outbreaks in China could curb demand, while corn traded […] Read more
Good and bad in livestock outlook
Reading Time: < 1 minute “It will be another year of split margins in the cattle sector — positive for cow-calf and pressured for feedlots,” says a new forecast from Farm Credit Canada. The report also predicts higher prices for pigs but that feed costs for farrow-to-finish operations in the West mean “some profitability challenges may be present.” Not surprisingly, […] Read more
China blocks Lithuanian beef, dairy, beer as Taiwan row grows
Canada seeks to join EU trade case against China
Beijing/Vilnius | Reuters — China suspended imports of beef, dairy and beer from Lithuania this week, Lithuania’s veterinary control agency said on Thursday, amid a growing trade dispute over the Baltic nation’s relations with Taiwan. China’s General Administration of Customs had informed the country it was halting the exports due to “lack of documentation,” the […] Read more
U.S. grains: South American dryness lifts soybeans, corn
Wheat also up
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean futures on Monday rose to eight-month highs, underpinned by concerns over possible reduced supplies from weather-damaged South American harvests. Corn also climbed on South American dryness, while wheat followed higher. Markets are also positioning ahead of world grain and oilseed supply and demand forecasts from the U.S. Department of […] Read more
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