USDA released its monthly meat price spreads today, which show the producer, packer and retailer share of the retail value of beef and pork. As expected, based on past and the current CPI reports, retail values of red meat during Q3 were down from earlier in the year, though beef saw a holiday spike in December. For the month, beef retail prices were flat, but down 3.1 percent on the year. Pork prices were down 1.9 percent for the month and up 1.5 percent for the year. Meanwhile, cattle producers are seeing a growing share of the retail value of beef, while hog producers have been seeing a declining share of the retail value of pork.
Obviously, for beef, with retail values declining and cattle prices increasing, the packers’ margin...
Key Market Insights The broad market is locked in on this week’s Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing, but this is no longer just a trade summit. Increasingly, the meeting is becoming tied directly to Iran, energy security, and the growing global economic fallout from disruptions through the Strai...
