LIVESTOCK HIGHLIGHTS: Top Stories of the Day
September 16 2019 - 5:45PM
Dow Jones News
TOP STORIES
McDonald's Offering Delivery Themed Loungewear -- Market
Talk
12:27 ET - McDonald's says it's offering free "cozy socks" and
slippers to US customers who order food on Thursday evening through
Uber's Uber Eats platform. The promotion is for the chain's third
"Global McDelivery Night In." The company is also selling "plush
loungewear" and games. The chain says that 1M customers worldwide
order McDonald's delivery on any given day, and 60% of orders are
placed at night. The chain expects delivery to reach $4B in sales
globally this year, and will be available in 10,000 US restaurants
as it strikes deals with more providers. (heather.haddon@wsj.com;
@heatherhaddon)
STORIES OF INTEREST
Corn Prices Rise as Farmers Bet on Crop Conditions
Corn for December delivery rose 1.4% to $3.74 a bushel on the
Chicago Board of Trade on Monday, with farmers holding off on
selling in anticipation of higher prices to come.
Wheat for December delivery rose 1.1% to $4.88 3/4 a bushel.
Soybeans for November delivery rose 0.1% to $9.00 a bushel.
Soybean Conditions Slip, Corn Condition Steady -- Market
Talk
16:13 ET - Crop conditions for US soybeans dropped one
percentage point to 54% in good or excellent condition, according
to the USDA. Meanwhile, the percentage of corn in that condition
stayed unmoved at 55%. Traders previously expected the corn crop to
show a 1-2 percentage point drop. However, both corn and soybeans
are still showing signs of being behind the normal developmental
pace. Only 18% of corn is considered to be mature this week, down
from 39% at this time last year. Only 68% of US corn is dented,
compared to 87% last year. Meanwhile, cotton crop condition fell to
41% in good-excellent condition -- down from 43% last week.
(kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)
Grain Export Inspection Shows More Beans to China -- Market
Talk
11:28 ET - China continues to be a top destination for soybeans
shipped out of the US, the USDA says in its grain inspection
report. Some 666,490 metric tons of soybeans were inspected for the
week ending Sept. 12, with roughly 350,000 tons being inspected for
shipment to China. Corn inspections totaled 421,803 tons, and wheat
inspections totaled 459,258 tons -- with only wheat inspections
being more than this time last year. Corn futures are up 1.2% in
trading Monday, while wheat is up 1% and soybeans are up 0.1%.
(kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)
FUTURES MARKETS
Hogs Give Back Half of Last Week's Gains -- Market Talk
16:30 ET - Hog futures on the CME finish down 4.3% to 63.625
cents a pound--giving back nearly half of what the contract gained
over the course of two days last week. However, this drop is viewed
by many traders as being driven by computer algorithms, and hog
prices are expected to move back up as Chinese supply decreases.
"The Chinese supply continues to see a record drop and thus
continues to create record high pork prices as of today, which has
now jumped roughly 78%," says Craig VanDyke of Top Third Ag
Marketing. Live cattle futures finished down 0.1%, to 98c.
(kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)
CASH MARKETS
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Sep 16
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
Sep 16 +$ 41.62 +$ 15.47
Sep 13 +$ 39.52 +$ 14.79
Sep 12 +$ 46.70 +$ 20.70
* 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 108.0
(Percent of Year-Ago) Select 100.1
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports
Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Monday fell 26 cents per
hundred pounds, to $220.62, according to the USDA. Select-grade
prices fell $2.03 per hundred pounds, to $196.57. The total load
count was 101. Wholesale pork prices rose 32 cents, to $67.60 a
hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 16, 2019 17:30 ET (21:30 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.