TOP STORIES

Hong Kong Reversal Impacts US Livestock -- Market Talk

11:58 ET - Hong Kong's special status as a separate entity from China was revoked by the US Department of Commerce on Monday, which may prove to impact US exports of beef and pork, says Steiner Consulting Group. "Hong Kong is a significant market for US meat products," says the firm. "The revocation of the special status will change the trading relationship and tariff rates." According to Steiner, the removal of the status will negatively impact export shipments. Livestock futures are up Tuesday, with live cattle futures on the CME up 1.2% and lean hog futures up 1%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

STORIES OF INTEREST

Conagra Prepares For Further Spikes In Grocery Sales -- Market Talk

1149 ET - Conagra Brands Chief Executive Sean Connolly said retailers and manufacturers are trying to stock up on food and household goods in preparation for a second wave of Covid-19 leading to another surge in panic buying at grocery stores. But that's easier said than done. "You have to have available capacity to do that. Demand remains elevated, and it remains challenging to play catch up on base inventory levels, much less build safety stock," he said in an interview. He added that consumers likely have more food in their freezers and pantries than before the pandemic hit, which would mean that another round of grocery hoarding wouldn't be as extreme as the initial one. "We are doing everything in our power to add additional capacity but it's going to be strained in the near term," Connolly said. (annie.gasparro@wsj.com)

Grain Stockpile Report Shows Effect of Livestock Hiccup -- Market Talk

14:13 ET - The USDA's quarterly grain stockpile report shows higher-than-expected stockpiles of US grains as of June 1 -- with the USDA projecting that corn stockpiles totaled 5.2 billion bushels while soybeans totaled 1.4 billion bushels and wheat totaled 1 billion bushels. The onset of coronavirus in the US is likely the reason for the higher inventories, especially when it comes to the consumption of grain feed by livestock. "Bigger corn stocks suggest that the livestock supply disruptions resulted in lower feed usage than the trade expected, more than offsetting quality issues remaining from the 2019 harvest," says Arlan Suderman of StoneX. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

McDonald's Canada President, CEO John Betts to Retire >MCD

McDonald's Corp. on Tuesday said John Betts will retire as president and chief executive of McDonald's Canada after a 50-year career with the fast-food giant.

McDonald's said Jacques Mignault, currently managing director of McDonald's Switzerland, will succeed Mr. Betts on Aug. 1.

FUTURES MARKETS

Hogs Finish Higher as New Strain of Swine Fever Develops -- Market Talk

15:51 ET - Lean hog futures on the CME finish up 1.2% to 49.025 cents per pound, partially in reaction to the emergence of a new variation of swine fever spreading in China. "While there is no immediate threat to people, China is very cautious of any virus following the Covid-19 and African Swine Fever outbreaks," says Karl Setzer of AgriVisor. "There is now speculation on what China will do with infected hogs, and if it will lead to additional Chinese pork demand." Live cattle futures, meanwhile, finished trading down 0.2% to 96.275 cents per pound on Tuesday. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

CASH MARKETS

 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Jun 30 
 
 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 
 
Jun 30       +$ 67.36            +$  1.34 
Jun 29       +$ 71.29            +$  5.53 
Jun 26       +$ 71.96            +$  6.87 
 
* 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   94.2 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)      Select  102.2 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports 

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Tuesday fell $1.39 per hundred pounds, to $206.97, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices fell 81 cents per hundred pounds, to $199.90. The total load count was 174. Wholesale pork prices fell $1.95, to $62.36 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 30, 2020 17:34 ET (21:34 GMT)

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