TOP STORIES
CHS Pushes Back into Ethanol as Margins Expand -- Market
Talk
13:16 EDT--Fat profits to be had grinding corn to make ethanol
thanks to cheap grain and rising gasoline consumption lure CHS Inc.
(CHSCP), the largest US farm cooperative, back into the business.
The firm-- which buys, processes and markets crops on behalf of its
farmer-owners--has previously invested in ethanol plants but hasn't
owned one in 5 years, according to a spokeswoman. In one indication
of ethanol's rising profitability, producer Green Plains Renewable
Energy (GPRE) reported this week its 1Q earnings climbed 17 times
due to growing exports and favorable margins. Terms of CHS'
purchase of the Illinois plant from Illinois River Energy haven't
been disclosed.
STORIES OF INTEREST
Bunge Could Reprise ADM's Disappointing 1Q -JPMorgan -- Market
Talk
16:36 EDT--Shares in agribusiness Bunge (BG) settle lower after
JPMorgan (JPM) warns in a research note that BG's 1Q earnings (due
tomorrow morning) could be a replay of disappointing results from
larger peer Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) earlier this week. ADM
missed analysts' expectations by a fairly wide margin, mostly due
to difficulties coaxing farmers to sell grain at low prices, and
then moving it across the frozen, occasionally snow-locked Midwest.
JPM sees BG facing those headwinds and others, including tough road
to sell its struggling sugar operations in Brazil. BG ends down a
fraction at $79.65 after giving up gains earlier in the session
FUTURES MARKETS
U.S. Hog Futures Tumble on Demand; Fresh Peaks for Feeder
Cattle
CHICAGO--U.S. hog futures trimmed losses into the close after
falling by the exchange-imposed daily limit Wednesday, pressured by
declining wholesale pork prices and broader concerns about
demand.
May hogs slid 2.6 cents, or 2.2%, to $1.1767 a pound at the
Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Most-active June hogs declined 2.15
cents, or 1.7%, at $1.2312 a pound. Other contracts were all
lower.
Pork processors have bid cautiously for hogs in the negotiated
markets this week amid uncertain demand from retailers for pricy
pork products. Concerns about buying by grocery stores and
restaurants were renewed late Tuesday after a significant drop in
the value of wholesale products.
CASH MARKETS
Zumbrota, Minn Hog Market Steady at $76 - Apr 30
Barrow and gilt prices at the Zumbrota, Minn., livestock market
today were steady at $76 per hundredweight.
Sow prices were steady. Sows weighing under 450 pounds were at
$89, 400-450 $90 450-500 pounds at $92, and those over 500 pounds
were $94 to $95.
The day's total run was estimated at 100 head.
Date Standard Estimated margin
Op Mgn at vertically
Index integrated operations
*
Apr 30 +$ 1.11 $ 54.39
Apr 29 +$ 1.52 $ 52.96
Apr 28 +$ 6.91 $ 60.19
*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 and pork carcass
composite values with their respective year-ago prices. The figures
are in percentages of the same-day year-ago price quotes.
Beef
For Today Choice 115.6
Select 116.9
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports
Wholesale choice-grade beef prices on Wednesday fell $1.26 per
hundred pounds to $233.10, according to the USDA. Select-grade
prices rose $1.87 per hundred pounds to $222.29. The total load
count was 194. Wholesale pork prices rose 70 cents to $114.89 a
hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.
Write to Kelsey Gee at kelsey.gee@wsj.com