Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures set contract highs on Thursday as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) slashed its production forecast for the variety that is grown in the U.S. Plains and used to make bread. USDA, in a monthly crop report, projected hard red winter wheat output at 590 million bushels, down […] Read more

U.S. grains: Wheats up on ‘indisputably bullish’ cuts to harvest estimates
MGEX July wheat limit up, K.C. July wheat hits contract high

U.S. livestock: CME cattle, hogs weaken amid demand concerns
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange livestock futures fell on Thursday, as high meat prices are threatening U.S. demand, analysts said. Concerns that inflation could remain elevated for longer than anticipated weighed on the markets because higher prices could reduce meat sales, analysts said. Traders also watched a rise in prices for grain used […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs drop to January lows on demand worries
Live cattle up, feeder cattle down
Chicago | Reuters — CME lean hog futures on Wednesday fell to their lowest prices since January amid concerns about demand for U.S. pork, analysts said. Inflation and a decline in U.S. pork exports to China, the world’s top pork consumer, are hurting demand, analysts said. The consumer price index rose 8.3 per cent in […] Read more

U.S. grains: Supply worries, weather spur rallies
Market awaits USDA world crop report; rains delay U.S. spring wheat plantings
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade grain and soybean futures jumped on Wednesday, as traders uneasy about world supplies adjusted positions a day before the release of U.S. crop data. Concerns about poor global crop weather helped support gains, with MGEX spring wheat futures setting contract highs as rains prevent plantings in the […] Read more

Nutrien may further raise potash output as sanctions curb other supplies
Chicago | Reuters — Canada’s Nutrien, the world’s largest fertilizer company, is weighing further increases to potash production as sanctions continue to limit shipments from Russia and Belarus, interim CEO Ken Seitz said on Tuesday. Prices of crop nutrients such as potash have skyrocketed as sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine have disrupted […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs drop to January lows
Lower grain values continue to lift cattle
Chicago | Reuters — CME lean hog futures on Tuesday dropped to their lowest prices since January on technical selling and concerns about risks to demand for U.S. meat, brokers said. U.S. pork exports to China have tumbled this year as Chinese producers rebuild their herds after outbreaks of the pig disease African swine fever. […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME hog futures backpedal off April high
Chicago cattle futures up
Chicago | Reuters — Profit-taking weighed on Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures on Tuesday after prices leapt to their highest price this month, traders said. Most-active June lean hogs settled down 1.075 cents at 121.325 cents/lb. (all figures US$). The contract is up eight per cent since nearing a one-month low on April 5 […] Read more

U.S. grains: Corn pulls back after reaching decade high
Wheat also gives up gains amid profit-taking, traders say
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade corn futures ended lower on Tuesday, consolidating below a decade high reached earlier, as traders assessed risks to global supply from the war in Ukraine and a slow start to planting in the U.S. Wheat futures also weakened, with profit-taking pressuring the markets, traders said. The July […] Read more

U.S. grains: Corn futures above $8 on supply concerns
Ukraine war continues disrupting Black Sea grain exports
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade corn futures topped US$8 a bushel and reached their highest price in nearly a decade on Monday on concerns over unfavourable U.S. weather slowing plantings and the Ukraine war disrupting grain exports. Traders worry chilly weather hampering plantings this spring could potentially contribute to lower yields come […] 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