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The Meat-Case Impact of Missouri Gov's Resignation -- Market Talk

10:57 ET - Grocery store meat cases aren't top of mind for many Missouri citizens following news of Governor Eric Greitens' resignation late Tuesday. But state cattle ranchers and beef sellers have a particular interest in what's next. Missouri's state legislature has passed a bill restricting the words "meat" and "beef" to products made from cattle carcasses, an effort pushed by beef producers to defend against growing sales of plant-based meat alternatives and under-development meat grown from animal cells. Gov. Greitens, mired in multiple legal matters, hadn't indicated whether he'd sign it, but Missouri Cattlemen executive VP Mike Deering is certain Lieutenant Gov. Michael Parson will after he assumes office June 1. Parson's spokeswoman has no immediate comment. (jacob.bunge@wsj.com; @jacobbunge)

STORIES OF INTEREST

Effects of E.coli Outbreak in Lettuce Ripple Through U.S. Food-Supply Chain

A deadly E.coli outbreak tied to romaine lettuce has shaken consumers' faith in the nation's favorite salad green, resulting in millions of dollars in losses for growers, retailers and restaurants.

More than six weeks into the outbreak, prices for romaine, historically the most-sold salad green, have dropped by more than half. Grocers nationwide have been clearing it from shelves in hundreds of stores. Several restaurants that served romaine are facing lawsuits from customers, and wholesalers have had to quickly round up kale and mesclun for restaurants that struck it from their menus.

Bayer Shares up on Long-Awaited U.S. Approval: UBS -- Market Talk

0915 GMT - Bayer is among the top gainers on the Euro Stoxx 600 index Wednesday morning after the U.S. Department of Justice granted conditional approval for its planned $66 billion takeover of Monsanto. "The approval was the last big hurdle for the deal," says UBS, which has a buy rating on the stock. Bayer is likely to announce a rights issue to finance the remainder of the deal in the coming weeks, says the bank. UBS says the size of the issue remains uncertain, but predicts it will be around EUR5 billion. The bank raises its target price to EUR130 from EUR120, while Bayer trades 3.3% higher at EUR102.08. (nathan.allen@dowjones.com)

FUTURES MARKETS

Beef Packing Margins Rise to Record

Slaughtering cattle has never been so profitable.

Meatpackers' margins rose to an all-time high on Wednesday, according to HedgersEdge, as their processing index climbed to 291.60 per head. That was up almost 200% this month.

Cattle futures at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange bounced on Wednesday as traders bet the market was bottoming. The front-month June live cattle contract rose 2.8% to $1.0605 a pound late in the session, while the more-active August contract climbed 3% to its upper daily limit of $1.0445.

CASH MARKETS

 
Zumbrota, Minn Hog $1.00 Higher at $42.00 - May 30 
 

Barrow and gilt prices at the Zumbrota, Minn., livestock market are $1.00 higher at $42.00 per hundredweight.

Sow prices are steady. Sows weighing 400-450 pounds are at $33.00-$35.00, 450-500 pounds are $33.00-$35.00 and those over 500 pounds are at $30.00-$32.00.

The day's total run is estimated at 100 head.

Prices are provided by the Central Livestock Association.

 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - May 30 
 
All figures are on a per-head basis. 
 
Date     Standard Margin       Estimated margin 
         Operating Index         at vertically - 
                             integrated operations 
                                      * 
May 30       +$10.84              +$30.97 
May 29       +$15.03              +$32.50 
May 25       +$14.64              +$30.24 
 
* 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   93.1 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)     Select   93.7 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports 
 

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Wednesday rose $1.12 per hundred pounds to $228.68, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices rose 73 cents per hundred pounds to $204.38. The total load count was 153. Wholesale pork prices fell 71 cents to $74.81 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 30, 2018 17:42 ET (21:42 GMT)

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