Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange feeder cattle futures hit new all-time highs in the nearby contracts on Monday, as bidding wars continue to rally cash prices as more producers show interest in expanding their herds, traders said. The rally helped give a boost to the pork market, where CME April lean hogs ended […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME feeder cattle hit new highs on supplies, cash market
Live cattle, lean hogs also up

U.S. grains: Corn continues climb, closes higher for fourth week
Traders watching cooler weather in U.S. southern Plains
Mexico City | Reuters — Chicago corn futures settled higher on Friday, making the fourth straight week of gains, after a week of flash sales to China and demand for ethanol processing. Soybeans closed lower, ending a gains streak since late March, as a record Brazilian harvest tempered concern about drought losses in Argentina. The […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle pull back from all-time highs
Chicago lean hogs up off contract lows
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures retreated on Friday after racing to all-time highs during the previous three sessions as tightening U.S. supplies rallied cash prices. Profit-taking and technical pressured futures following the surge, though the market could still post new highs moving forward, analysts said. Surging cash prices this week […] Read more

Russia says Black Sea grain deal may be nearly over
Ukraine and UN to blame for backlog of ships, Russia alleges
Moscow | Reuters — Russia on Thursday said there would be no extension of the U.N.-brokered Black Sea grain deal beyond May 18 unless the West removed a series of obstacles to the export of Russian grain and fertilizer. The Ukraine grain Black Sea export deal was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in […] Read more

U.S. grains: Chicago grains close lower as weather improves
USDA reports flash corn sale to China
Mexico City | Reuters — Chicago grains futures reversed earlier gains to close lower on Thursday, as weather improved and despite Russia saying there would likely be no extension of the wartime grains corridor deal, analysts said. Soybeans lost ground from their earlier rally as weather in the Northern Hemisphere looked clearer. “U.S. weather is […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle hit another record high
Cattle producers seen playing hard ball; hogs touch contract lows
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures set a record high for the third consecutive session on Thursday as producers held out for higher prices from meatpackers searching for supplies, brokers said. Strong cash prices and tightening supplies have pushed futures above a 2014 record for the front-month contract, after ranchers reduced […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle hit record high as packers scramble for supplies
Chicago lean hogs continue lower
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures stormed to an all-time high on Wednesday as meatpackers scrambled to buy livestock at a time when supplies are tightening, brokers said. Ranchers have reduced their herds due to high feed costs and drought in the western U.S., forcing packers such as Tyson Foods and […] Read more

France says pesticide ban will not hit grain exports
Fumigant can't be in 'direct contact' with grains
Paris | Reuters — France will ensure that a decision by health and safety agency ANSES to ban the use of a pesticide in direct contact with grains does not hamper its exports outside the European Union, its trade and agriculture ministers told Parliament on Tuesday. In late October ANSES cleared the use of phosphine […] Read more

U.S. grains: Chicago grains up after jumpy day of Black Sea concerns
Markets await U.S. export sales data on Thursday
Mexico City | Reuters — Chicago grains futures closed higher Wednesday, after a mixed day underpinned by renewed Russian criticism of the deal allowing Ukraine to export grain from Black Sea ports. Soybean and corn futures settled up, regaining some ground lost earlier in the session amid a bumper soy harvest in Brazil and an […] Read more

Outlook for Black Sea grain deal ‘not so great,’ Kremlin says
Grain deal due to expire next month; Russia wants financial, insurance obstacles removed
Moscow | Reuters — The Kremlin on Wednesday said the outlook for the landmark U.N.-brokered Black Sea grain deal was not great as promises to remove obstacles to Russian exports of agricultural and fertilizer exports had not been fulfilled. The grain deal is an attempt to ease a food crisis that predated the Russian invasion […] Read more