LIVESTOCK HIGHLIGHTS: Top Stories of the Day
19 January 2019 - 10:07AM
Dow Jones News
TOP STORIES
Chicken Stocks Surge on China Hopes -- Market Talk
10:57 ET - Shares of US chicken processors take flight after WSJ
reports that US and China trade officials are in talks to reopen
China to US poultry imports. China boasts the world's biggest
appetite for chicken feet, a product that's otherwise tough for US
chicken companies to move, translating to hundreds of millions of
dollars in annual sales in years past. But China's shut out US
chicken products since 2015 over avian influenza fears. Selling
"phoenix claws" at a better price, and taking more dark meat off
the US market, would help chicken giants during a period of low US
prices generally. Pilgrim's Pride and Sanderson Farms both rise 5%,
with Tyson up 2.8%, versus a roughly 1% gain in US stock indexes.
(jacob.bunge@wsj.com; @jacobbunge)
Perdue Recalls 34 Tons of Chicken Nuggets Due to Wood
Contamination
Perdue Foods LLC is recalling about 34 tons of chicken nuggets
because they may be contaminated with wood, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture said Friday.
The agency said the recall involves 68,244 pounds of
ready-to-eat chicken nuggets that were produced on Oct. 25,
2018.
Johnsonville Recalls 24 Tons of Sausage Due to Rubber
Contamination
Johnsonville LLC is recalling about 24 tons of pork patties
because they might contain rubber, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture said Friday.
The agency said the recall involves about 48,371 pounds of raw
ground pork patty products that were produced and packaged in
September and October of last year and shipped to retail locations
nationwide.
STORIES OF INTEREST
Grains Close Week on a High Note -- Update
Reports of large grain trades overseas are being seen as an
indicator of what kind of purchasing activity is being seen in the
U.S. while the government is shut down and not reporting trade
news. Soybeans saw the biggest jump off of the reports, but corn
also went up on rumors of Chinese interest.
Without USDA or CFTC data to reference, traders continue to rely
on internal calculations in order to predict movement on the grains
markets. In some cases, including predicting the activity of larger
hedge funds, this practice is become less reliable by the day. "The
problem is, the farther you get away from the (Dec. 18 CFTC
report), it's hard to have confidence," said Craig Turner of
Daniels Trading. "I'd be very impressed if they're accurate when
this is all said and done."
FUTURES MARKETS
Livestock Climbs to Close Week -- Market Talk
15:38 ET - Livestock futures on the CME climbed to end the week,
with February lean hog futures up 0.6% to 61.225 cents per pound
and live cattle futures up 0.4% to $1.27375 per pound. Snow in the
Midwest served to pull up livestock futures today, as well as
rumors regarding the Chinese again approaching the US market for
export goods and the possibility that tariffs on Chinese goods will
soon be lifted by the US. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)
CASH MARKETS
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Jan 18
All figures are on a per-head basis.
Date Standard Margin Estimated margin
Operating Index at vertically -
integrated operations
Jan 18 +$ 28.85 +$ 14.43
Jan 17 +$ 30.06 +$ 14.78
Jan 16 +$ 29.93 +$ 14.09
* 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 103.6
(Percent of Year-Ago) Select 104.3
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports
Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Friday rose 65 cents per
hundred pounds, to $213.15, according to the USDA. Select-grade
prices rose $1.81 per hundred pounds, to $209.45. The total load
count was 96. Wholesale pork prices fell 16 cents, to $68.45 a
hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 18, 2019 17:52 ET (22:52 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.