CME June 2024 live cattle with 20-day moving average and October 2023 live cattle (black line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME feeder cattle, deferred live cattle set highs on tight supply

Hog futures down on lower export sales

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. feeder cattle futures and deferred live cattle futures climbed to new peaks on Friday, as limited U.S. supplies continued to propel prices. Inventories of U.S. cattle dwindled to their lowest levels in decades after producers reduced their herds over the last year because drought reduced the availability of pastures for […] Read more

CME October 2023 feeder cattle with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME feeder cattle set contract high, live cattle hit July high

Hogs up but within yesterday's range

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures climbed to a July high on Thursday while feeder cattle set new contract highs. Tight supplies continue to support the markets, analysts said, after U.S. producers reduced their cattle herds over the last year as drought limited the availability of pastures for grazing. October live […] Read more


CBOT November 2023 soybeans with 20-, 30- and 50-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soy futures stumble as trade awaits harvest, crop data

U.S. corn harvesting starts early in some areas

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell on Thursday as grain traders waited for farmers to harvest their fields and the government to release updated crop estimates next week. Most-active soybean futures ended down 16-3/4 cents at $13.59-1/2 a bushel at the Chicago Board of Trade (all figures US$). CBOT wheat futures declined 9-1/4 […] Read more

Liberia-flagged bulker K Sukret, carrying grain under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, waits for inspection in the southern anchorage of Istanbul on May 17, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Mehmet Emin Caliskan)

UN working on guarantees for Russia to restore grain deal, Moscow skeptical

Bombing of Ukraine ports, grain facilities erodes other partners' goodwill, Guterres says

Reuters — The United Nations is “actively engaged” in trying to improve Russia’s grain and fertilizer exports in a bid to convince Moscow to again allow the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Thursday. “We believe that it’s necessary to create a system of mutual guarantee,” Guterres told reporters on […] Read more


CME October 2023 live cattle with 20- and 50-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle rally near four-week high

October hogs touch lowest in a week

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures rallied on Wednesday to their highest level in nearly four weeks, while feeder cattle also stormed higher. U.S. cattle supplies are tight as drought reduced the amount of pasture available for grazing and drove producers to send more cattle to slaughter over the last year. […] Read more

CBOT November 2023 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soy futures jump as heat, dryness hurt crop more than expected

USDA rates soy, corn crops least good-to-excellent since 2012

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures jumped on Wednesday after weekly U.S. government data showed crop conditions deteriorated more than expected during hot, dry weather. Reduced crop ratings fuelled expectations among traders that the U.S. Department of Agriculture may cut its yield forecast in a monthly report due next week. USDA […] Read more


Container ships pass through locks on the Panama Canal in this file photo. (CIA.gov)

Panama Canal water levels at historic lows, restrictions to remain

Lake feeding canal low on rainfall

Panama City | Reuters — The Panama Canal’s water levels have not recovered enough as the end of the rainy season approaches and limits on daily transit and vessel draft will stay in place for the rest of the year and throughout 2024, the waterway’s authority said on Tuesday. The restrictions, implemented earlier this year […] Read more

Green lentils. (Savany/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: Poor monsoon rains cut into India production

Canadian crops also expected lower

MarketsFarm — Disappointing monsoon rains in India this year are expected to cut into the country’s pulse production, according to reports out of the country. Crop production in India is highly dependent on the monsoon rains that typically soak the country from June through September, but the moisture to date was about nine per cent […] Read more


CBOT December 2023 soft red winter wheat with 20-day moving average, MGEX December 2023 hard red spring wheat (yellow line) and K.C. December 2023 hard red winter wheat (orange line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat up off three-month low as Australian crop declines

U.S. corn, soy crop ratings fall more than expected

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures edged higher on Tuesday, after hitting a three-month low, amid short covering and concerns about dry weather threatening production in export hubs including Australia. Corn futures also rose, while the soybean market eased as traders awaited the start of U.S. harvesting. After the markets closed, […] Read more

CME October 2023 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs near one-month high on export outlook

CME cattle futures close lower

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures neared a one-month high on Tuesday on expectations for increased U.S. pork exports and tightening supplies. Demand for U.S. pork is benefiting as high pig prices in Europe cause global importers to shift some business to the United States, where pig prices have been weak, […] Read more