CME July 2023 lean hogs with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hog futures drop to contract lows on demand woes

CME cattle futures also lower

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures sank to contract lows on Monday, with the market under pressure from plentiful supplies and weak demand for pork at grocery stores and on the export market. “The story remains one of a slow-to-move product market,” brokerage StoneX said in a note to clients. Cattle futures […] Read more

CME August 2023 live cattle with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures rally

Hog futures slide to new lows; USDA cattle report seen as neutral

Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures rose on Friday in a bout of technical trading, as cash prices remained relatively steady and investors positioned themselves ahead of the monthly U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report, traders said. On the pork side, a second day of volatile trading across lean hog futures resulted […] Read more


CME August 2023 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle inch lower, nearby hogs end higher

'Cutouts slowly start to lose ground here'

Chicago | Reuters — Live cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange slipped on Tuesday, pressured by softening wholesale beef prices and a lack of bullish news, traders said. Cash cattle trade was quiet, leaving some traders to focus on beef prices. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) priced choice cuts of beef on Tuesday […] Read more

CME July 2023 lean hogs with 20-day moving average (pink line, right column) and CME cash lean hog index (blue line, left column). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Lean hogs up two per cent on firm cash markets, short-covering

June live cattle down, later months up

Chicago | Reuters — Lean hog futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange rose more than two per cent on Monday on signs of firming cash hog values, rising wholesale pork prices and short-covering. CME June lean hog futures settled up 2.05 cents at 86.15 cents/lb., with the July contract up 2.175 cents at 87.5 cents […] Read more


CME August 2023 feeder cattle with 10-, 20- and 50-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures rise on falling corn prices

Chicago lean hogs also firm

Chicago | Reuters — CME Group cattle futures contracts rallied on Friday as a government forecast for a record-large U.S. corn harvest raised expectations that feeding costs will weaken as the supply base rises. Hog futures ended firm on signs of improving values in the cash market, traders said. Most actively traded June lean hog […] Read more

CME June 2023 lean hogs with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hog futures fall on weak export data

CME cattle futures mixed

Chicago | Reuters — CME Group hog futures fell on Thursday on poor export demand for pork, traders said. Cattle futures were mixed, with live cattle easing on weakening trades in the cash market. Feeder cattle contracts were supported by falling corn prices. The U.S. Agriculture Department said on Thursday morning that beef export sales […] Read more


(Keith Weller photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. Supreme Court upholds California’s pig confinement law

Dissent suggests 'substantial burden against interstate commerce'

Reuters — The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday preserved a California law banning the sale of pork in America’s most-populous state from pigs kept in tightly confined spaces, rejecting an industry challenge claiming that the voter-backed animal welfare measure impermissibly regulates out-of-state farmers. The justices voted 5-4 to uphold a lower court’s dismissal of a […] Read more

CME June 2023 lean hogs with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hog, cattle futures fall on poor fundamental outlook

Corn prices expected to remain weak

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures fell on Wednesday, as poor demand for pork smothered any bargain-buying attempts to pull prices away from contract lows hit earlier this week. Cattle contracts also were lower, but the declines were kept in check by expectations that corn prices will remain weak and keep feeding […] Read more



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

U.S. livestock: Hog futures rebound on technical bounce

Chicago cattle futures firm

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures recovered from contract lows on a round of technical buying on Tuesday, traders said. Traders also noted the recent declines may spark interest in the export market. “U.S. pork has become some of the cheapest in the world and it would appear we’re indeed starting […] Read more