TOP STORIES

SpartanNash Sees Easing of Food-Price Deflation -- Market Talk

16:51 ET - SpartanNash's (SPTN) top and bottom lines benefit from an easing of food-price deflation but the grocery-store operator and distributor falls short on revenue expectations in its 2Q. SPTN's food-distribution business is helping buoy the retail business, which the company has being working to restructure. CEO David Staples says retail continues to face "challenging market conditions," as its corporate-owned store count drops to 151 from 160 a year ago. SPTN also names former United Natural Foods (UNFI) CFO Mark Shamber finance chief, effective Sept. 17. Shares in SPTN fall 0.8% after hours. (bowdeya.tweh@wsj.com; @BowKnowsBiz)

 
   STORIES OF INTEREST

Performance Food Sees Case Growth Despite Missing Views -- Market Talk

8:53 ET - Food-service distributor Performance Food Group (PFGC) falls short of top and bottom line expectations in its F4Q, despite a rise in case volume when adjusting for an extra week in the comparable quarter last year. Net sales rise 1.3% to $4.43B, but would have been up 9.1% excluding the extra week. Sales to independent customers and growth in its branded products and candy and snack distribution business fuel the rise in case growth. Shares fall 5% to $24.65 premarket. (justina.vasquez@wsj.com)

 
   FUTURES MARKETS

Tumbling Belly Prices Pressure Hog Futures

Hog futures fell sharply after a steep drop in pork-belly prices.

A pound of pork bellies, used to make bacon, fell 15.54 cents, to $1.8059 a pound, as of midday Wednesday. A run-up in belly prices to highs in recent months buttressed the hog market, helping limit losses despite growing supplies of pork. Slaughter numbers and pork production rose to multimonth highs last week.

Cattle futures also fell, under pressure from weaker cash prices. Feedlots didn't sell any cattle at the online Fed Cattle Exchange auction on Wednesday morning, turning down bids from meatpackers. Sales so far this week have mostly been at $1.10 a pound live, down from around $1.15 a pound last week.

 
   CASH MARKETS 
 
Zumbrota, Minn Hog Steady At $50.00 - Aug 16

Barrow and gilt prices at the Zumbrota, Minn., livestock market today are steady at $50.00 per hundredweight.

Sow prices are lower. Sows weighing under 450 pounds are $54.00-$56.00, 400-450 pounds are at $54.00-$56.00, 450-500 pounds are $54.00-$56.00 and those over 500 pounds are $60.00-$63.00.

The day's total run is estimated at 150 head.

Prices are provided by the Central Livestock Association.

 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Aug 16 
 
All figures are on a per-head basis. 
 
Date     Standard Margin       Estimated margin 
         Operating Index         at vertically - 
                             integrated operations 
                                      * 
Aug 16       +$25.03              +$66.15 
Aug 15       +$29.07              +$71.12 
Aug 14       +$28.06              +$71.35 
 
* Based on Iowa State University's latest estimated cost of production. 
A positive number indicates a processing margin above the cost of production of the animals. 
 
Beef-O-Meter 
This report compares the USDA's latest beef carcass composite 
values as a percentage of their respective year-ago prices. 
 
                                 Beef 
          For Today             Choice   97.9 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)     Select  100.4 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Wednesday fell $1.44 per hundred pounds, to $197.51, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices fell 83 cents per hundred pounds, to $195.04. The total load count was 201. Wholesale pork prices fell $2.31, to $91.17 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 16, 2017 17:41 ET (21:41 GMT)

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