Aside from lean hogs, which dropped the daily limit on Tuesday, agricultural futures markets appear to be moving sideways ahead of Monday’s USDA Quarterly Stocks report and the Prospective Plantings report.  The markets are choppy and vulnerable to the latest news headlines.\r\n   Volume is light, and traders expect these key reports to bring even … Read More

Live cattle futures seem to be headed higher after finishing up on Monday amid speculative buying, overcoming early pressure from a bearishly construed monthly USDA Cattle-On-Feed report.  June and Aug showed the most pressure early based on the weight distribution of placements.\r\n   Market contacts say live cattle found chart support near Friday’s lows.  Further … Read More

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th class=\”cutoutHeadChoice\”>Choice</th><th class=\”cutoutHeadSelect\”>Select</th></tr></thead><tbody class=\”cutoutBody\”><tr><td>Current Cutout Values:</td><td>233.80</td><td>222.07</td></tr><tr><td>Change from prior day:</td><td>1.16</td><td>1.40</td></tr><tr><td>Choice/Select spread:</td><td>11.73</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Total Load Count (Cuts, Trimmings, Grinds):</td><td>96</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Cut Loads (Choice/Select Combined):</td><td>80.01</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table><br/><br/><div style=\”font-size:10px; font-style:italic;\”>This post has been automatically generated, please confirm all information with the USDA before consideration as part of any market decisions.</div>

Markets are out of synch this morning.  The US Dollar is up while agricultural commodities also climb, and stock market futures are up despite losses in Europe and disappointing economic data from China.\r\n   Equities traders hope for more government stimulus in China, and the buying interest may be ignoring rising tensions along the Russia/Ukrainian … Read More

The US and Russia exchanged sanctions Thursday in their argument over who should control Crimea.  The US aimed its latest round of sanctions at Russian President Vladimir Putin and his inner circle, while Moscow returned fire with sanctions against US lawmakers and White House officials.\r\n   None of those moves are likely to affect grain … Read More

Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen appears to have stolen the limelight from Russia and its annexation of Crimea, a breakaway region of Ukraine.  \r\n   At the conclusion of March’s two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting Wednesday, Yellen spooked traders by hinting that interest rate hikes could come as early as spring 2015.  Fed plans … Read More

As if the world weren’t in enough turmoil.  Now, it appears another break-away region is asking to join the Russian Federation.\r\n   There are reports overnight that a little-known region of Moldova called Trans-Dniester, which shares a border with Ukraine and has sought Russian inclusion since a failed attempt in 2006 is asking to be … Read More