(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle surge on cash optimism, technical buying

Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures notched their biggest gains in 11 months on Wednesday, boosted by optimism for higher cash cattle prices and technical buying, traders and analysts said. Higher cattle sales at a weekly online auction helped to trigger the rally. Feeder cattle and lean hog futures also were […] Read more



(Gloria Solano-Aguilar photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. livestock: Hog futures ease on big supplies, spreading

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures were mostly lower on Monday, pressured by bear-spreading and big U.S. supplies that continued to weigh on cash markets, traders said. The front-month October hogs contract notched the biggest declines, easing 0.975 cent, or about 1.7 per cent, to settle at 60 cents/lb. (all figures […] Read more




(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hogs narrowly mixed on pre-USDA consolidation

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle and lean hog futures were flat to narrowly mixed on Monday as investors consolidated positions ahead of a government livestock and crop report due on Tuesday, traders and analysts said. Some live cattle contracts eked out small gains following modestly higher sales in U.S. Plains cash […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: Funds, short-covering extend CME live cattle gains

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Friday closed higher for a third day in a row, led by fund buying and investors who covered previously short positions, said traders. December led advances after funds in CME’s livestock markets that track the Standard + Poor’s Goldman Sachs Commodity Index bought that […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: Spreads help drive up CME live cattle futures

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle closed higher on Thursday after investors bought October futures and simultaneously sold deferred months in a trading strategy known as bull spreads, traders said. Some market participants, also through spreads, purchased live cattle futures and at the same time sold CME lean hog contracts. There are […] Read more


(Canada Beef Inc. photo)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle gain on firmer beef prices

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures settled moderately higher on Wednesday, with help from short-covering and improved wholesale beef values, said traders. December received added support from fund buying after the contract topped the 10-day moving average of 109.648 cents (all figures US$). October live cattle finished up 0.275 cent/lb. at […] Read more

(File photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: Cattle mostly firm on short covering

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures were mostly higher on Friday, lifted by end-of-week short covering following a decline to nine-month lows a day earlier, traders said. Futures, however, remain anchored by plentiful supplies of market-ready cattle and weak cash markets as fed cattle in the U.S. Plains this week traded […] Read more