LIVESTOCK HIGHLIGHTS: Top Stories of the Day
December 13 2019 - 05:49PM
Dow Jones News
TOP STORIES
Brazil Meat Packers Will Continue to Benefit from Swine Fever -- Market Talk
10:33 ET - Brazilian meat packers including JBS, Marfrig and BRF
have all risen this year, helped partly by the increase in demand
from China because of the outbreak of African swine fever there,
according to Betina Roxo, an analyst at XP Investimentos. The
effects of the disease, which has decimated China's swine herd,
still hasn't been fully priced in to the three Brazilian companies'
shares, and will continue to be felt into next year, Roxo says.
Strong demand from the US will also boost the three companies'
sales, she said. (jeffrey.lewis@wsj.com)
Vietnam Pork Prices at Record High Due to Swine Fever -- Market Talk
0424 GMT (Dec. 12) - Pork prices in Vietnam are at record high
as around 22% of the country's pig population has been culled due
to African swine fever, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says in
a note. "ASF is expected to continue to affect Vietnam's swine
sector and the economy at large," the department says. Live hog
prices have increased by 35% to 40% since September 2019 and with
the approach of the Tet holiday it is uncertain when hog prices
will stabilize, USDA says. (lucy.craymer@wsj.com)
STORIES OF INTEREST
Soybean Futures Higher Following Trade Deal Confirmation
Soybeans for January delivery rose 1% to $9.07 1/2 a bushel on
the Chicago Board of Trade on Friday, with the market reacting
cautiously to China's confirmation of a trade deal. The market
finally got a Phase 1 trade deal between the U.S. and China, but
the many-times-bitten grains traders were quite shy about jumping
into futures. The Trump administration said China will buy between
$40 billion and $50 billion worth of U.S. agricultural products,
but traders are skeptical. "They need U.S. pork, they need U.S.
soybeans," said Dave Marshall of First Choice Commodities. "Do they
need $50 billion of agricultural goods? Absolutely not."
Global Food-Delivery Battle Heats Up With $4 Billion Deal
European food-delivery giant Delivery Hero SE has agreed to buy
a South Korean rival for $4 billion, heating up the global battle
to meet growing consumer demand for delivered meals. Online
food-delivery businesses around the world are joining forces and
attracting investment as more consumers opt to have their meals
brought to their homes or offices, with Amazon.com Inc. and Uber
Technologies Inc. joining the fray in recent years.
The Downside of the US-China Trade Deal -- Market Talk
1506 ET - It isn't clear US farmers have $50B of goods to sell
to meet obligations China is supposed to take under the new,
limited trade agreement between the US and China, says Robert Daly
of the Wilson Center. Previous agricultural sales to China were at
just roughly $17B. And forcing China effectively to guarantee more
purchases may come at the expense of closer allies who will then
get sales shutout of the Chinese market, adds Daly, who runs the
Kissinger Institute on China and the United States. "The United
States is advocating for managed trade rather than free trade," he
said. "We are violating the free-market principles which we are
simultaneously asking China to respect." (tim.puko@wsj.com;
@timpuko)
FUTURES MARKETS
Hogs End Off Highs as Trade Enthusiasm Eases Some -- Market Talk
15:41 ET - Hog futures end up 1.2% at 69.5 cents per pound, off
its earlier high of 71.55 cents, as Chinese officials confirm a
preliminary trade deal with the US. Live cattle futures had an even
better day, rising 2% to $1.2755 per pound. It's the highest cattle
futures have been since April, and continuing cattle's rally that
began in mid-September. Promises of sizable agriculture purchases
by China help sentiment, though details and firm commitments are
hard to find. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)
CASH MARKETS
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Dec 13
Source: USDA, based on Wall Street Journal calculations
All figures are on a per-head basis.
Date Standard Margin Estimated margin
Operating Index at vertically -
integrated operations
Dec 13 +$ 66.01 +$ 41.29
Dec 12 +$ 66.89 +$ 41.07
Dec 11 +$ 69.21 +$ 47.27
* 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 101.8
(Percent of Year-Ago) Select 101.6
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports
Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Friday rose 64 cents per
hundred pounds, to $216.29, according to the USDA. Select-grade
prices rose $1.68 per hundred pounds, to $204.24. The total load
count was 127. Wholesale pork prices rose 10 cents, to $80.94 a
hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 13, 2019 17:34 ET (22:34 GMT)
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