4/8/2021
By Christopher Walljasper
CHICAGO, April 8 (Reuters) - U.S. lean hog futures on the
Chicago Mercantile Exchange climbed higher on Thursday as tight
supply and firm export demand offered support, analysts said. A lot of that has to do with COVID and the pent-up demand
we have, with more things opening up, said Joe Kooima,
commodity broker at Kooima Kooima Varilek Trading.
CME June lean hogs settled 0.80 cents higher at
108.700 cents per pound, after reaching a high of 108.775.
Nearly all contract months found new life-of-contract highs.
The CME s lean hog index, a two-day weighted average of cash
prices, climbed to $100.47 per hundredweight (cwt), its highest
LIVESTOCK-Lean hog futures climb as processing slows agriculture.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from agriculture.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Other US farmers told
Reuters they are signing contracts to sell the corn and soy crops they will harvest in autumn, months before they have even planted them, looking to take advantage of boom times after years of oversupply, trade wars and low prices. Some are waiting to sell, betting on even higher prices.
A dozen farmers interviewed by
Reuters said 2021 is shaping up to be their most profitable season in years as corn futures have rallied to their highest since June 2013 and soybean futures to their highest since June 2014. They are working to pay off debts and update machinery after years of sluggish markets left them dependent on government payouts.
Illinois farmer Fred Helms is so eager for his next soybean crop he invested in a faster-maturing variety of soy seeds in hopes of beating other farmers to harvest the crop in mid-September, more than a month earlier than usual.
By Julie IngwersenCHICAGO, Jan 27 (Reuters) - U.S. live cattle futures fell on Wednesday in a light profit-taking setback following a four-session climb, and on spillover weakness from declines in Wall Street equity markets, traders said.However, continued strength in wholesale beef prices and expectations of higher cash cattle prices this week underpinned the market.Chicago Mercantile Exchange April live cattle futures settled down 0.475 cent at 122.625 cents per pound, and March feeder cattle futures ended down 1.400 cents at 140.075 cents per pound.