TOP STORIES

Chicken Stocks Surge on China Hopes -- Market Talk

10:57 ET - Shares of US chicken processors take flight after WSJ reports that US and China trade officials are in talks to reopen China to US poultry imports. China boasts the world's biggest appetite for chicken feet, a product that's otherwise tough for US chicken companies to move, translating to hundreds of millions of dollars in annual sales in years past. But China's shut out US chicken products since 2015 over avian influenza fears. Selling "phoenix claws" at a better price, and taking more dark meat off the US market, would help chicken giants during a period of low US prices generally. Pilgrim's Pride and Sanderson Farms both rise 5%, with Tyson up 2.8%, versus a roughly 1% gain in US stock indexes. (jacob.bunge@wsj.com; @jacobbunge)

Perdue Recalls 34 Tons of Chicken Nuggets Due to Wood Contamination

Perdue Foods LLC is recalling about 34 tons of chicken nuggets because they may be contaminated with wood, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Friday.

The agency said the recall involves 68,244 pounds of ready-to-eat chicken nuggets that were produced on Oct. 25, 2018.

Johnsonville Recalls 24 Tons of Sausage Due to Rubber Contamination

Johnsonville LLC is recalling about 24 tons of pork patties because they might contain rubber, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Friday.

The agency said the recall involves about 48,371 pounds of raw ground pork patty products that were produced and packaged in September and October of last year and shipped to retail locations nationwide.

STORIES OF INTEREST

Grains Close Week on a High Note -- Update

Reports of large grain trades overseas are being seen as an indicator of what kind of purchasing activity is being seen in the U.S. while the government is shut down and not reporting trade news. Soybeans saw the biggest jump off of the reports, but corn also went up on rumors of Chinese interest.

Without USDA or CFTC data to reference, traders continue to rely on internal calculations in order to predict movement on the grains markets. In some cases, including predicting the activity of larger hedge funds, this practice is become less reliable by the day. "The problem is, the farther you get away from the (Dec. 18 CFTC report), it's hard to have confidence," said Craig Turner of Daniels Trading. "I'd be very impressed if they're accurate when this is all said and done."

FUTURES MARKETS

Livestock Climbs to Close Week -- Market Talk

15:38 ET - Livestock futures on the CME climbed to end the week, with February lean hog futures up 0.6% to 61.225 cents per pound and live cattle futures up 0.4% to $1.27375 per pound. Snow in the Midwest served to pull up livestock futures today, as well as rumors regarding the Chinese again approaching the US market for export goods and the possibility that tariffs on Chinese goods will soon be lifted by the US. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

CASH MARKETS

 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Jan 18 
 
All figures are on a per-head basis. 
 
Date     Standard Margin       Estimated margin 
         Operating Index         at vertically - 
                             integrated operations 
 
Jan 18       +$ 28.85            +$ 14.43 
Jan 17       +$ 30.06            +$ 14.78 
Jan 16       +$ 29.93            +$ 14.09 
 
* 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  103.6 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)     Select  104.3 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Friday rose 65 cents per hundred pounds, to $213.15, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices rose $1.81 per hundred pounds, to $209.45. The total load count was 96. Wholesale pork prices fell 16 cents, to $68.45 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 18, 2019 17:52 ET (22:52 GMT)

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