Theopolis Waters

Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Monday rose for a third straight session, buoyed by last Friday’s bullish U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly cattle-on-feed report, traders said. Friday’s USDA data showed the number of cattle placed in U.S. feedlots dropped three per cent from a year earlier as improved grazing land allowed ranchers to

Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle closed higher on Friday, helped by short-covering and positioning before the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly cattle-on-feed report at 2 p.m. CT, traders said. Most analysts polled by Reuters expect the USDA data to show placements gained slightly in November as cheaper corn encouraged feedlots to bring in more young

Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle on Wednesday closed lower in response to lower prices in light cash trading, traders and analysts said. Wednesday morning, a few cash cattle traded in Nebraska at $129 per hundredweight (cwt), down $1 to $2 from a week ago, feedlot sources said (all figures US$). Cash bids elsewhere in the

Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures fell on Tuesday in anticipation of weaker cash prices as packer demand fades before the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, traders said. A small number of hogs in the Western corn belt, on average, traded on Tuesday morning at $73.97 per hundredweight (cwt). That price, which was $2.39 lower than

Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures snapped back from morning lows on Monday, helped by short-covering in response to the turnaround in wholesale beef prices, traders said. The morning wholesale choice beef price jumped $1.23 from Friday to $200.12 per hundredweight (cwt). Select items gained $1.10, to $188.11, based on U.S. Department of Agriculture data

Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle on Friday settled lower as weaker-than-expected cash prices and sluggish wholesale beef demand weighed, traders said. Cash cattle in Texas and Kansas traded at $131 per hundredweight (cwt), down $1 from a week ago, according to feedlot sources (all figures US$). Friday afternoon’s wholesale choice beef price slumped $1.56 from

Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s feeder cattle futures climbed to a two-month high on Thursday as corn prices slumped amid ethanol mandate worries, traders and analysts said. January feeder cattle ended 1.4 cents per pound higher at 167.075 cents, and March closed at 166.55 cents, up 1.05 cents (all figures US$). Chicago Board of Trade corn for

Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Friday posted modest losses, weighed by weaker wholesale beef values and steady to lower cash cattle returns, traders and analysts said. Friday morning’s wholesale choice beef price slipped 39 cents per hundredweight (cwt) from Thursday to $202.02, and select dropped $1.94 to $187.68, based on U.S. Department of

A sharp drop in feed corn prices caused by the huge U.S. harvest last month has put the nation’s cattle feedlots in the black for the first time in more than two years. But analysts warn those profits could soon disappear as the prices they pay for scarce lightweight calves remain near record high. Feedyards

Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle prices firmed during Monday’s quiet Veterans’ Day holiday in anticipation of at least steady cash prices this week, traders and analysts said. Last Thursday, packers paid mostly $131 per hundredweight (cwt) for cattle, down $1 from the week before, said feedlot sources (all figures US$). A few sales of $132