CME February 2022 lean hogs (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME hog futures touch four-week high

USDA reports see smaller hog herd, slightly fewer cattle on feed

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures touched a four-week high on Thursday before retreating and may rise further next week because of smaller-than-expected national inventory numbers, analysts said. The U.S. hog herd totaled 74.2 million head on Dec. 1, down four per cent from a year earlier, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in […] Read more

CBOT March 2022 soybeans (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, dark green and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soy, corn futures extend rally

South American weather woes remain 'concerning'

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade soybean and corn futures extended a rally to new multi-month peaks on Wednesday as dry weather in some South American growing belts stoked supply concerns. Wheat futures rose for a fifth straight session, tracking corn and soy while also drawing support from brisk global demand and Ukraine […] Read more


CME February 2022 lean hogs (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and dark red lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME hogs approach four-week high

Cattle futures also rise

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures jumped to their highest prices in about four weeks on Wednesday, while cattle futures also advanced. Futures could come under pressure early on Thursday from monthly U.S. Department of Agriculture data that showed frozen pork supplies on Nov. 30 were down eight per cent from the […] Read more

CME April 2022 lean hogs (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME hogs near one-month high on smaller herd estimates

Live cattle, feeder cattle also up

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures rallied on Tuesday amid expectations the U.S. Department of Agriculture will confirm a smaller pig herd in a report due out on Thursday, analysts said. USDA, in its quarterly Hogs and Pigs report, is expected to show the herd was about 2.9 per cent smaller on […] Read more


CBOT March 2022 corn (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, orange and dark green lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn, soybeans hit summertime-level highs

Dryness in Brazil and Argentina in view for soy and corn; investors show renewed appetite for risk, traders say

Chicago | Reuters — Unfavourable dryness in crop-growing areas of South America on Tuesday pushed Chicago Board of Trade corn futures to their highest price since July and soybeans to an August high, analysts said. Wheat futures also rallied. South American weather was in the spotlight amid concerns about dry weather in southern Brazil, the […] Read more

File photo of a dicamba-damaged soybean plant. (Reuters)

U.S. EPA reviewing dicamba over crop damage claims

Chicago | Reuters –– The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is assessing whether dicamba herbicide can be sprayed safely on soybean and cotton plants genetically engineered to resist the chemical, without the procedure posing “unreasonable risks” to other crops, an agency official said Tuesday. Farmers and scientists for years have reported problems with dicamba drifting away […] Read more


CME February 2022 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, dark red and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle, hog futures sag as broad selling hits markets

Crude, U.S. equities caught in sell-off

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange livestock futures slumped on Monday as traders reduced risk in the face of rising coronavirus cases, brokers said. Selling hit a range of markets including crude oil, which lost more than three per cent, and U.S. stocks. “The risk-off trade is back today,” said Dan Norcini, an independent […] Read more

CBOT March 2022 wheat (candlesticks) with K.C. March 2022 wheat (yellow O/H/L/C). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Winter wheat futures rise on demand, crop woes

CBOT soybeans up, corn down

Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. winter wheat futures rose on Monday on global demand and concerns about poor crop weather in America’s Plains region, while concerns about unfavourable dryness in parts of South America helped lift U.S. soy futures, analysts said. Traders focused on weather conditions after crop observers in Kansas said hurricane-force winds that […] Read more


A refrigerator is stuck in a tree at Dawson Springs, Kentucky, about 140 km west of Bowling Green, on Dec. 13, 2021. (Photo: Reuters/Jon Cherry)

U.S. tornadoes destroy chickens, tractors, silos

Chicago | Reuters — A Deere dealership and a Pilgrim’s Pride chicken hatchery were destroyed when deadly tornadoes swept through Kentucky on Friday, while silos holding millions of bushels of corn suffered damage, the companies and the state’s agriculture commissioner said on Monday. At least 64 people, including six children, lost their lives in Kentucky […] Read more

CME February 2022 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, dark red and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle, hogs end down on profit-taking

Futures decline despite higher beef prices

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle, feeder cattle and hog futures ended lower on Friday as profit-taking hit the livestock markets ahead of the weekend, traders said. Live cattle futures consolidated after setting contract highs this week, traders said. Most-active CME February live cattle finished 0.625 cent lower at 138.95 cents/lb. (all […] Read more