TOP STORIES

 
USDA Forecasts Show It Isn't Banking on Trade Deal: Rabo -- Market Talk 

1005 GMT - After a planting season ravaged by poor weather, traders of U.S. farm produce have been focusing on the outlook for supply. But for Stefan Vogel, head of agricultural commodity markets at Rabobank, one of the most important developments in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's latest WASDE report is its gloomy outlook for demand. The USDA cut its forecast for U.S. soybean exports in the 2019-20 season by 75 million bushels to 1.875 billion bushels, saying this reflected lower supplies and stiffer competition from South American producers. Vogel says the figures show the USDA expects slower growth in demand for animal feed and isn't banking on a trade deal being reached in China. (joe.wallace@wsj.com)

STORIES OF INTEREST

 
Red Robin Closes a Colorado Restaurant on E. Coli Concerns -Nation's Restaurant News 

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. (RRGB) closed a Westminster, Colo., restaurant after three customers tested positive for E. coli, Nation's Restaurant News reported.

 
Tropical Storm Barry a Question Mark for Grains Traders -- Market Talk 

09:05 ET - Tropical Storm Barry looks to cause more flooding in areas off of the Mississippi River but possibly provide little moisture to the rest of the Midwest -- a sort-of worst-case scenario for farmers. "The forecast models are similar in their handling of Barry with flooding rains through the spine of the Mississippi River," says AgResource. "However, the storm quickly dissipates as it reaches [southern Illinois] leaving limited totals for the northern 2/3[rds]'s of the state along with [Indiana and Ohio]." It is an about-face for many states that suffered too much wetness during the planting season, but for the crops that made it to the ground and survived, water is now needed. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

FUTURES MARKETS

 
Livestock Market Caps Week With Gains -- Market Talk 

15:35 ET - Livestock futures on the CBOT finish higher -- leaving both lean hog and live cattle futures with gains at the end of the week. August live cattle futures close up 0.6% for the day at $1.08475 per pound, an increase of 1.3% for the week. Meanwhile, lean hog futures finished up 1.9% for the day at 80.65 cents per pound, which is an increase of 4.5% for the week. Indications that swine fever in Asia could finally translate into higher demand for US exports helped push the price up throughout the week. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com, @kirkmaltais)

CASH MARKETS

 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Jul 12 
 
Source: USDA, based on Wall Street Journal calculations 
All figures are on a per-head basis. 
 
Date     Standard Margin       Estimated margin 
         Operating Index         at vertically - 
                             integrated operations 
 
Jul 12       -$  2.52            +$ 21.86 
Jul 11       -$  1.61            +$ 22.42 
Jul 10       -$  2.28            +$ 21.34 
 
* 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  103.0 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)     Select   96.2 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports 

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Friday fell 97 cents per hundred pounds, to $212.80, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices fell $1.19 per hundred pounds, to $189.60. The total load count was 109. Wholesale pork prices fell 26 cents, to $70.57 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 12, 2019 17:40 ET (21:40 GMT)