LIVESTOCK HIGHLIGHTS: Top Stories of the Day
October 21 2019 - 5:28PM
Dow Jones News
TOP STORIES
Chicken Glut Weighs on Meatpackers -- Market Talk
10:38 ET - Meat stocks in a funk after analysts warn of a
chicken glut. Overall poultry supplies are high, thanks to
favorable weather over the summer and expansions at processing
plants, which have pushed down prices, particularly for large-size
broiler birds. Price erosion combined with upward pressure on
feedgrains are chipping away at profit margins, and while African
swine fever's hit to Asian hog supplies is still anticipated to
boost meat demand and prices in the US, it's not yet clear when
that'll start to kick in. Wary views from JPMorgan, Credit Suisse
and Stephens push Tyson Foods down 1%, Sanderson Farms down 2% and
Pilgrim's Pride off 0.3%. (jacob.bunge@wsj.com; @jacobbunge)
CFIA Updates Recall List; Some Beef Items Were Sold at Ontario
Whole Foods Stores
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which is investigating
possible E.coli contamination, has added some Whole Foods
Market-branded beef items to a list of recalled products.
STORIES OF INTEREST
Fonterra Increases Farmgate Milk Price Forecast
Fonterra Co-Operative Group Ltd. said Tuesday it was raising its
Farmgate Milk Price range forecast.
The cooperative said it anticipated prices in a range between
NZ$6.55 ($4.20) and NZ$7.55 ($4.84) per kgMS. The previous forecast
called for a range between NZ$6.25 and NZ$7.25
Fast-Food Chains Heat Up Breakfast Fight
The breakfast business is about to get even more crowded, as
fast-food chains make a renewed push for the fickle morning
customer.
Wendy's Co., which doesn't serve breakfast nationally after
previous attempts floundered, is trying again. It joins Shake Shack
Inc. and an increasing number of fast-food chains in trying to
capture more business in the morning. McDonald's Corp., Burger
King, and Dunkin' Brands Group Inc. also continue to make breakfast
a priority.
Dunkin Goes National with Beyond Meat Sausages -- Market
Talk
0902 ET - Dunkin' Brands says it will roll out breakfast
sandwiches with plant-based sausage made by Beyond Meat nationally
on Nov. 6. The item first tested in Manhattan in July became one of
the coffee chain's top-selling sandwiches, the company says. Dunkin
is placing a big bet in moving to more than 9,000 locations from
163 New York City stores when it started this summer.
(heather.haddon@wsj.com; @heatherhaddon)
FUTURES MARKETS
Livestock Futures Finish Day Mixed -- Market Talk
15:05 ET - Live cattle futures on the CME finish trading 0.2%
higher at $1.13875 a pound, continuing the rally of the past month
and a half for another day. Cattle futures are now up 14% since
Sept. 10, when the rally began. Helping support the rally in the
short term was the prolonged outage of Cargill's Dodge City
plant--which came back online at full capacity today. Meanwhile,
hog futures on the CME fall 0.2% to 67.825c. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com,
@kirkmaltais)
CASH MARKETS
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Oct 21
Source: USDA, based on Wall Street Journal calculations
All figures are on a per-head basis.
Date Standard Margin Estimated margin
Operating Index at vertically -
integrated operations
Oct 21 +$ 38.92 +$ 37.60
Oct 18 +$ 39.17 +$ 34.16
Oct 17 +$ 29.26 +$ 32.50
* 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 105.9
(Percent of Year-Ago) Select 100.1
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports
Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Monday rose $2.09 per hundred
pounds, to $220.13, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices rose
$1.40 per hundred pounds, to $194.44. The total load count was 86.
Wholesale pork prices rose $1.60, to $77.89 a hundred pounds, based
on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 21, 2019 17:13 ET (21:13 GMT)
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