Hogs Futures Rise on Speculation China to Buy More U.S. Pork; Cattle Fall

(Bloomberg) -- Hog futures in Chicago rose to the
highest in more than three months on speculation China, faced
with tightening supplies of pork, boosted purchases of the meat
from the U.S. Cattle fell for the third-straight day.

China, the sixth-largest importer of U.S. pork, likely will
buy 5 million to 10 million pounds this week from producers such
as Smithfield Foods Inc. and Tyson Foods Inc., said Rich Nelson,
a livestock analyst at Allendale Inc. in McHenry, Illinois. Hog
prices in Chicago are up 28 percent from a year ago on strong
export demand for pork.


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Cattle Futures Head for Fifth-Straight Weekly Gain on Exports; Hogs Rise

(Bloomberg) -- Cattle futures rose to a three-month
high in Chicago, heading for their fifth-straight weekly gain on
expectations that export sales will increase. Hog prices
advanced on speculation of more pork sales to China.

U.S. beef exports to Japan and South Korea, typically the
largest overseas customers, have risen since both countries this
year lifted bans imposed in December 2003 after a mad-cow
disease outbreak. Japan bought $1.4 billion in U.S. beef in 2003
and South Korea bought $814 million worth.


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Cattle Futures Gain as U.S. Exports Indicate Rising Beef Demand; Hogs Fall

(Bloomberg) -- Cattle futures rose for a third
straight session as a weekly export sales report indicated strong
demand for U.S. beef. Hog prices fell.

U.S. exporters reported net sales of 11,300 metric tons of
beef for the week ended June 28, including 1,300 tons for Japan
and South Korea, U.S. Department of Agriculture data show. Sales
to those two nations, which had been closed to U.S. beef for much
of the past three years because of mad-cow disease concerns,
indicates longer-term sales growth, said Troy Vetterkind, a
trader at e-Hedger in Chicago.


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Hog Prices Decline as Report Spurs Concerns About Oversupply; Cattle Fall

(Bloomberg) -- Hog futures in Chicago fell to the
lowest in almost four months on concern there may be an
oversupply of pigs after a government report showed a larger
U.S. breeding herd. Cattle prices were little changed.

U.S. hog producers expanded their herds by 0.9 percent in
the three months ended May 31, the Department of Agriculture
reported last week, as corn costs steadied and profit improved.
The nation's 65,000 hog producers were holding back an
estimated 6.116 million females for breeding on June 1, up from
6.06 million a year earlier, the USDA said.


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Hog Futures Rise as Farmers May Trim Herds on High Corn Costs; Cattle Gain

(Bloomberg) -- Hog futures in Chicago rose on
speculation that higher corn costs may prompt farmers to trim
herds. Cattle prices also gained.

Corn, the main ingredient in livestock feed, has gained 7.6
percent so far this week and closed over $4 a bushel yesterday
for the first time since March 23. Farmers may liquidate hog
herds to avoid paying higher feed costs, said Brian Hoops, an
analyst with Midwest Market Solutions in Yankton, South Dakota.


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Hog Futures Fall for Third Straight Day on Supplies; Cattle Futures Drop

(Bloomberg) -- Hog futures in Chicago fell for the
third-straight day as supplies of the animals exceeded demand
from meatpackers. Cattle futures also declined.

Pork processors such as Smithfield Foods Inc. killed about
1.95 million hogs last week, unchanged from a year earlier, even
though pork prices are 13 percent higher. That indicates hog
supplies are plentiful, said Rich Nelson, an analyst with
Allendale Inc. in McHenry, Illinois.


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