TOP STORIES

Food Prices Continue Steady Rebound -UN FAO

Global food prices rose for a second consecutive month in July as they continued to recover from a sharp slump driven by the coronavirus, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization said Thursday.

The UN FAO's monthly food price index--which tracks a basket of the most common foodstuffs such as grains, vegetable oils and meat--rose 1.2% in July to 94.2.

TreeHouse Foods Looks for Tailwinds from Pandemic -- Market Talk

1652 ET - TreeHouse Foods, which makes store-branded foods, said it's recovering from its many self-inflicted issues in recent years that dragged down its earnings and stock price. Sales were up in the latest quarter as grocery demand rose because of the pandemic. However, it still faces challenges. TreeHouse had to close some factories temporarily as workers tested positive for Covid-19. It's also dealing with irregular retailer order patterns due to store capacity concerns, softer demand from foodservice venues and a reduction in the variety of items it makes. Big, national brands have been able to bring back variety faster than TreeHouse and other private label manufacturers, giving them more shelf space, said William Blair analyst Jon Andersen. He said store brands "will be better represented at the shelf during coming weeks, which in turn should aid sales and market share." (annie.gasparro@wsj.com)

STORIES OF INTEREST

Fast-Food Chains Need Creativity To Keep Edge -- Market Talk

12:38 ET - Drive-thru facilities are key for the fast-food industry to gobble up market share from dine-in restaurants during the pandemic, but the edge will likely shrink as people start to go out to eat, BTIG's Peter Saleh says. He tells WSJ fast-food chains will have to be creative with their menus, adding items that attract customers but don't slow down drive-thru service. "People now go to the drive-thru because they don't have a choice," he says, noting customers face long lines. In order to hold on to the advantage over traditional restaurants, Saleh says, "you got to increase that speed of service." (paulo.trevisani@wsj.com; @ptrevisani)

Papa John's Hiring 10,000 More Workers -- Market Talk

0824 ET - Papa John's International aims to hire 10,000 more workers in 3Q. The pizza chain says it hired more than 20,000 employees in 2Q as its sales have grown during the pandemic. North American same-store sales grew 28% during 2Q. Pizza companies have been one of the winners of the pandemic as consumers order delivery and carryout for home. (heather.haddon@wsj.com; @heatherhaddon)

Australian Cattle Prices Likely to Drift Lower -- Market Talk

0617 GMT - Australian cattle prices will drift lower as the coronavirus pandemic continues to weigh on global demand, but limited cattle supplies will keep local prices strong, Rabobank says. Australian beef exports remain strong--up 31% on year in June--but it is unclear if this was due to shortages in U.S. beef production or a result of the U.S. production system coming back online and needing more lean trimmings, Rabobank notes. The Eastern Young Cattle Indicator is up A$0.0025 at A$7.6125 a kilogram. (lucy.craymer@wsj.com)

FUTURES MARKETS

Livestock Finish Lower on Uncertain Demand -- Market Talk

15:35 ET - Livestock futures finished lower, led by live cattle futures down 0.5% to $1.06975 per pound. Cattle prices have relaxed after rising for five straight sessions in late July, due in part to hiccups in North America's post-coronavirus recovery. "Beef demand remains a lingering question for the rest of 2020," says Steiner Consulting Group. "Staggered re-opening of the economy is expected to continue. Consumer confidence and the willingness to spend on higher priced beef items is a concern." Lean hog futures, meanwhile, finished trading down 0.2% at 49.2 cents per pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

CASH MARKETS

 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Aug 6 
 
All figures are on a per-head basis. 
 
Date     Standard Margin       Estimated margin 
         Operating Index         at vertically - 
                             integrated operations 
 
Aug  6       +$ 61.68            +$ 17.68 
Aug  5       +$ 55.77            +$ 10.18 
Aug  4       +$ 51.79            +$  6.74 
 
* 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   94.5 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)      Select   99.6 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports 
 

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Thursday rose $1.09 per hundred pounds, to $204.66, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices rose $1.19 per hundred pounds, to $192.01. The total load count was 143. Wholesale pork prices rose $3.49, to $69.96 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 06, 2020 17:50 ET (21:50 GMT)