Insights and Stories of Karl Plume

Mar. 23, 2017 at 3:42 pm CDT

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell to a five-month low on Thursday and corn dropped to a 2-1/2 month low, pressured by plentiful global supplies amid bumper South American crops and expectations for large plantings in the U.S. The actively traded May-delivery contracts for both commodities hit their […]

By Karl Plume

Mar. 6, 2017 at 4:38 pm CST

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures eased on Monday on profit-taking and technical selling, although losses were limited by firm wholesale beef prices and the discount of futures to cash prices, traders said. April live cattle closed down 0.425 cent/lb. to 115.55 cents, slipping below the […]

By Karl Plume

Feb. 24, 2017 at 11:18 pm CST

Chicago | Reuters — A glut of idled river barges is clogging Mississippi River shorelines from St. Louis to New Orleans, leaving U.S. barge companies that haul grain, coal and other bulk goods counting their losses. Even with record-large exports of corn and soybeans, typically a boon for shippers that […]

By Karl Plume, Michael Hirtzer

Jan. 10, 2017 at 2:49 pm CST

Reuters — Global commodities trader Cargill on Tuesday reported a sharply higher adjusted quarterly profit led by strong results from its beef and turkey businesses and robust demand for North American grain and oilseed crops. The privately held company said adjusted operating earnings jumped nearly 80 per cent in the […]

By Karl Plume

Dec. 28, 2016 at 3:29 pm CST

Chicago/Reuters – Kansas wheat farmer Michael Jordan is breaking with a century-old tradition grain producers have trusted to protect their businesses: He has stopped using futures to hedge risks to his crops. The CME Group’s Kansas City wheat contract sets grain prices for millers, exporters and other grain buyers both […]

By Karl Plume