TOP STORIES

Tim Hortons Adds Beyond Meat Burgers to Lunch, Dinner Menus >QSR BYND

Tim Hortons on Wednesday said it is adding burgers from Beyond Meat Inc. (BYND) to its lunch and dinner menu, expanding its plant-based offerings beyond breakfast.

The Canadian restaurant chain, a unit of Restaurant Brands International Inc. (QSR), said the move follows the launch of three Beyond Meat breakfast sandwiches last month.

STORIES OF INTEREST

Soybeans Fall Again, This Time on Weak Demand

Soybeans for November delivery fell 0.6% to $9.00 1/2 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on Wednesday on indications of weak demand.

Wheat for September delivery lost 0.4% to settle at $5.05 1/2 a bushel.

Corn for December delivery rose 0.1% to $4.41 1/2 a bushel.

Farm Belt Woes Make Corn Compelling Bet -- Market Talk

1603 GMT - Corn offers one of the most compelling opportunities in commodity markets right now, says Mark Raskopf, senior research analyst at Russell Investments. Months of torrid rain that led to historic delays on US farms have been followed by a heatwave in the Farm Belt. "From a fundamental perspective soil moisture was too high for corn to grow these deep roots and now you have this hot weather so it really could easily hurt yields," Raskopf says. "Plus looking forward you're pretty susceptible to an early freeze because you're going to have to have the crop in the ground longer." Large stocks of agricultural produce carried over from last season could keep a lid on prices, Raskopf adds. "But overall it feels like the balance sheet is tightening rapidly." Corn futures have slipped over the past month but have risen 18% so far this year at $4.43 a bushel. (joe.wallace@wsj.com)

Ethanol Inventories Rise for Third Straight Week -- Market Talk

11:06 ET - Ethanol inventories are up for the third straight week, according to data released by the EIA. Inventory totaled 23.365M barrels this week, up over 7.3% from the same time last year. Production of ethanol is also on the rise, increasing by 19,000 barrels to 1.066M barrels per day. For corn farmers, who are looking for increased ethanol adoption to drive higher corn consumption, this news is not ideal. However, corn futures are reacting more to concerns about a heat wave in the central US this week, with the December contract up 0.4%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

FUTURES MARKETS

Hog Futures Finish at Highest Close in Nearly a Month -- Market Talk

15:18 ET - Hog futures on the CME closed at their highest level since June 19, ending up 3.7% to 82 cents per pound. The rise in the contract comes as traders see no signs that African swine fever is under control in Asia --and expect that prices should get a boost in the third to fourth quarter of this year. "I do think prices have bottomed out," says Michael Seery of Seery Futures. August live cattle futures, meanwhile, fall 0.1% to $1.08125 per pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

CASH MARKETS

 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Jul 17 
 
 This report reflects U.S. pork packer processing margins. The margin indices 
are calculated using current cash hog or carcass values and wholesale pork 
cutout values and may not reflect actual margins at the plants. These 
estimates reflect the general health of the industry and are not meant to 
be indicative of any particular company or plant. 
Source: USDA, based on Wall Street Journal calculations 
All figures are on a per-head basis. 
 
Date     Standard Margin       Estimated margin 
         Operating Index         at vertically - 
                             integrated operations 
 
Jul 17       +$  1.89            +$ 31.90 
Jul 16       +$  3.46            +$ 30.24 
Jul 15       -$  0.92            +$ 24.25 
 
* 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  104.0 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)     Select   95.7 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports 

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Wednesday fell 36 cents per hundred pounds, to $212.57, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices fell 82 cents per hundred pounds, to $188.34. The total load count was 200. Wholesale pork prices rose 77 cents, to $75.24 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 17, 2019 17:22 ET (21:22 GMT)

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