TOP STORIES

Chipotle's Sales Rise Along With Prices

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. is selling more burritos even at higher prices.

The fast-casual chain beat expectations on earnings for its second quarter, reporting adjusted earnings per share of $3.99 on $112.9 million in income excluding one-time events. Those were up 39% from last year's period.

STORIES OF INTEREST

Trade Negotiators Expected to Meet in China, Kudlow Says

WASHINGTON -- A U.S. delegation is expected to travel to China for trade talks, National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said Tuesday, marking what would be the first in-person talks since the Group of 20 world leaders' summit last month.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have stressed in "very strong terms" in recent phone calls with Chinese negotiators that the U.S. wants China to agree to buy more American agricultural products, Mr. Kudlow said. He said China appears willing to do so as a "good-will gesture."

Trump Tweets About Farmer Payments As Markets Wait For Details -- Market Talk

09:44 ET - President Trump touts the $16B designated to aid farmers hurt this year by global trade turmoil in a tweet, saying "farmers are starting to do great again, after 15 years of a downward spiral. The 16 Billion Dollar China 'replacement' money didn't exactly hurt!" The tweet comes after the White House's Office of Management and Budget completed its regulatory review of the market facilitation program earlier this month. Some market participants speculate that the USDA may release more details about the program--which was originally announced in late May--this week, but the USDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on that possibility. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

USDA Says It Expects Climate Change to Drive Up Insurance Cost -- Market Talk

09:58 ET - In a report by the USDA's Economic Research Service on Monday, the agency says if greenhouse gas emissions are not curbed in the coming years, then the cost of insuring farmers under the federal crop insurance program will rise as well, driven by more-volatile crop prices and yields. For soybeans in particular, the ERS expects the cost to insure those acres to double to $3.98B per year if no mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions is undertaken in this century. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

FUTURES MARKETS

Hogs Finish 3.5% Higher on China News -- Market Talk

16:13 ET - August lean hog futures on the CME end trading Tuesday 3.5% higher at 86.175 cents per pound, due in part to news that US officials are headed to China next Monday to resume trade talks. For hog traders, a renewed shot of hope for an eventual trade deal was a bullish driver. "Livestock futures were higher today as fund buying finally surfaced in that complex," said Karl Setzer of AgriVisor. October live cattle futures, meanwhile, finish 0.7% higher at $1.09875 per pound, as traders reacted to corn starting the session down. Corn futures rallied in the afternoon, but that change didn't appear to drag down cattle, Setzer says. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

CASH MARKETS

 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Jul 23 
 
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 23       -$  7.61            +$ 40.97 
Jul 22       -$  4.54            +$ 40.35 
Jul 19       +$  0.54            +$ 37.32 
 
* 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  104.4 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)     Select   95.8 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports 

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Tuesday rose 46 cents per hundred pounds, to $213.78, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices rose 12 cents per hundred pounds, to $189.71. The total load count was 131. Wholesale pork prices rose 29 cents, to $79.46 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 23, 2019 17:25 ET (21:25 GMT)

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