(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: Cash price optimism boosts CME live cattle

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle on Thursday reached a seven-week high, propelled by expectations for steady-to-higher cash prices by week’s end, said traders. Thursday’s wholesale beef price upswing, short-covering and year-end positioning furthered market advances, they said. December live cattle, which will expire on Friday, closed 2.525 cents/lb. higher at 124.55 […] Read more


(Gloria Solano-Aguilar photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. livestock: CME hogs ease from 10-month top on lower cash prices

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hogs on Wednesday slid from a 10-month high, weakened by profit-taking and less money paid by packers for slaughter-ready, or cash, hogs, said analysts. February closed 0.5 cent lower at 71.025 cents (all figures US$). April ended down 0.1 cent, at 75.275 cents. Processors need fewer animals […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Feeder market ends 2017 on positive tone

Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle markets traded $2 to as much as $6 higher. Moderate to stronger buying interest was noted across the Prairies. Once again, feedlot operators were fairly aggressive on quality yearling packages; semi-weaned and weaned calves were a solid $3-$5 higher while unweaned lighter calves experienced minimal price appreciation. […] Read more


(Canada Beef Inc. photo)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle surge on beef demand, cash price hopes

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures finished higher on Tuesday, driven by strong wholesale beef values that generated cash price optimism for this week, said traders. Investors bought deferred months and simultaneously sold December futures before its Dec. 29 expiration. Fund buying contributed to market advances. December live cattle finished up […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle mostly lower after USDA report

Chicago | Reuters — The bulk of Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle contracts closed lower on Friday, pressured by the morning’s bearish U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) monthly Cattle on Feed report, said traders. USDA’s data showed more cattle than expected entered feedlots in November than a year ago, which analysts attributed to low-cost feed […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: Consolidation lifts CME live cattle ahead of USDA report

Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Thursday closed higher, after consolidation and short-covering ahead of Friday’s U.S. government cattle report helped the market recoup some recent losses, traders said. Analysts, on average, expect the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) monthly Cattle on Feed report at 11 a.m. CT to show […] Read more




(Regis Lefebure photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. livestock: Supply, demand worries pull hogs from four-month high

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures eased from a four-month top on Monday, pressured by uneasiness over burdensome supplies and tepid meat demand, said traders. Technical selling and futures’ premiums to CME’s hog index for Dec. 14 at 64.11 cents further weighed on the market, they said (all figures US$). February […] Read more