TOP STORIES


 
Australian Cattle Prices Near Historic Highs on Farm Restocking, NAB Says -- Market Talk 

0452 GMT - Australian cattle prices are trading around historic highs following the biggest, steepest price rally in market history. Phin Ziebell at the National Australia Bank says weather has been good so far and there are expectations of more rain, which has driven farmers to restock farms or hold onto cows, keeping supply tight. He says this is clearly great news for those who have held cattle through the drought, but more of a challenge for drought-hit properties forced to largely destock in the 2018-19 period. "These producers are now buying into a red-hot market." (lucy.craymer@wsj.com)

STORIES OF INTEREST


 
Corn Futures Rise on China Demand, Lack of Brazil Rain -- Market Talk 

13:45 ET - Corn futures end a holiday-shortened session higher, closing up 1.5% at $4.34 a bushel. "The main reason [for today's price rise] are issues that started out the week and are still in place--moderate sales to China in previous weeks, which we already knew, and also expectations for further sales," Rich Nelson of Allendale tells WSJ. He says another concern is weather in South America, and more specifically rainfall in Brazil, which is looking below normal. But he said that issue and its impact on prices will become clearer over the next couple weeks. Soybean futures also end higher, up 0.7% at $11.92 a bushel. (dan.molinski@wsj.com)

FUTURES MARKETS


 
Livestock Futures Decline in Muted Session -- Market Talk 

14:03 ET - Livestock futures end a bit lower in a quiet session. "With today being sandwiched between a holiday and the weekend, the markets are thin and there's not a whole lot of news," Trey Warnock at Amarillo Brokerage tells WSJ. "Wednesday traded mostly cash and was neutral to slightly disappointing, so it's not terribly surprising there's a slight pullback today." Lean hogs end 0.3% down at 67.25 cents per pound, while live cattle decline 1.1% to end at $1.1325 per pound. (dan.molinski@wsj.com)

CASH MARKETS


 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Nov 27 
 
All figures are on a per-head basis. 
 
Date     Standard Margin       Estimated margin 
         Operating Index         at vertically - 
                             integrated operations 
 
Nov 27       +$ 43.06            +$ 42.91 
Nov 25       +$ 38.44            +$ 39.20 
Nov 24       +$ 35.54            +$ 37.73 
 
* 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  104.6 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)      Select  104.8 
 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports 

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Friday fell $2.21 per hundred pounds, to $242.85, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices fell 22 cents per hundred pounds, to $220.68. The total load count was 51. Wholesale pork prices rose $1.73, to $79.03 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-27-20 1729ET