The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Thursday it will require meat packers to report cattle purchases they make through online auctions to the agency starting next week, a move that stoked traders' hopes for more transparent markets.
The USDA will begin including transactions from auctions on the Fed Cattle Exchange in pricing reports that top packers, including Cargill [CARG.UL] and Tyson Foods, use to determine how much they should pay farmers for an increasing percentage of animals sold.
That means the exchange, which has held eight auctions since launching in May, will begin impacting prices that packers pay in the broader market.
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