Chicago | Reuters — Nearby Chicago wheat futures jumped three per cent on Wednesday and hit a four-month high on worries about dry conditions threatening yield prospects in the southern U.S. Plains, analysts said. Corn futures rose on robust export demand for U.S. supplies while soybean futures declined after a choppy session. Chicago Board of

U.S. grains: Wheat surges on worries about Plains dryness

U.S. grains: Soybeans up on Argentina weather concerns
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures rose 1.7 per cent on Tuesday on worries about dry weather hurting crop prospects in Argentina, despite rains expected in the coming days, analysts said. Corn rose on the weather worries and on improving export demand for U.S. supplies, and wheat followed the firm trend. Chicago Board of

U.S. grains: Wheat lower on technicals, better weather
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures fell to a one-week low on Monday on technical selling and an improving weather outlook, including beneficial moisture in parts of the Midwest winter wheat belt, analysts said. Soybean futures set a two-week low on forecasts for much-needed moisture in parts of Argentina, and corn sagged as well.

U.S. livestock: Strong cash trade lifts CME live cattle
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures rose on Monday, riding a tailwind from Friday’s higher-than-expected prices for market-ready, or cash, cattle, traders said. February live cattle finished 1.1 cents/lb. higher at 125.7 cents and most-active April settled up 0.375 cents at 125 cents (all figures US$). After futures closed on Friday,

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle futures sag
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures edged lower on Friday to snap a five-session climb, pressured by technical selling and uncertainty about cash price direction, given that cash cattle did not trade ahead of the closing bell, brokers said. However, after the futures market closed, fed cattle traded lightly in cash markets

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle extend climb to five sessions
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures rose on Thursday for a fifth straight session, buoyed by higher wholesale beef prices and technical buying including short-covering, traders said. Retailers are buying beef to feature during the second half of the month, when consumers may have paid off year-end holiday debt and have more

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle jump on short-covering
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures surged on Wednesday on technical buying and short-covering, spurred in part by higher-than-expected prices at a weekly cattle sale, traders said. Animals at Wednesday’s Fed Cattle Exchange brought $119.75/cwt, up from $119 a week earlier (all figures US$). “I guess people thought it would be closer

U.S. livestock: CME nearby hogs hit contract high
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange February lean hog futures rose nearly three per cent on Tuesday and set a contract high, buoyed by firmer cash hog prices and spreading against cattle futures, traders said. Wholesale pork fetched $80.71/cwt, down 38 cents from Monday (all figures US$). But lean hogs in the top cash

Bakers, farmers struggle to make a little dough
A poor crop is wreaking havoc on bakers and creating market opportunities for high-protein wheat
Chicago’s iconic sandwiches — Italian beef heroes dripping with gravy, and hotdogs loaded with pickles and hot peppers — wouldn’t be such culinary institutions without the bread. But this fall, bakers faced a crisis getting the right kind of bread to delis and sandwich shops locally and across the United States. Gonnella Baking Co. —

New Year’s Day cold snap to hit U.S. winter wheat, rivers
Chicago | Reuters — A New Year’s Day cold snap in the southern U.S. Plains poses a threat to winter wheat, particularly in Kansas, the country’s biggest producer of the grain, agricultural meteorologists said. Farmers in Kansas grow hard red winter (HRW) wheat, the largest U.S. wheat class that typically is milled into flour for