December live cattle futures end down - CME
Hog futures retreat from contract highs
5 November 2024
2 minute read
By: Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) lean hog futures ended lower on profit taking and technical selling on Monday, Reuters reported, citing brokers.
Profit-taking also pressured live cattle futures at the CME.
The hog market pulled back after setting contract highs last week on solid demand for US pork and tighter-than-expected hog supplies.
"Hogs were certainly overbought," said Matt Wiegand, commodity broker for risk management firm FuturesOne in Nebraska.
CME December lean hog futures slid 0.85 cents to close at 83.225 cents per pound.
Wholesale cutout values eased for US pork bellies and hams, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said. The pork carcass cutout was nearly unchanged, as loin values increased.
In Canada, the BC Maritime Employers Association said it would lock out workers at Canada's Port of Vancouver after a negotiating deadline passed, potentially disrupting exports of meat and other goods.
A lengthy work stoppage at Vancouver could open an opportunity for the US to sell more chilled pork to Japan, as the US and Canada compete for global export business, the US Meat Export Federation said. The disruption could also prompt shippers to truck more Canadian meat south of the border into the US market, though.
In CME's cattle futures, December live cattle ended down 0.85 cent at 185.075 cents per pound. The market has declined since climbing on Tuesday to its highest price since March.
CME November feeder cattle futures closed 0.525 cent lower at 246.350 cents per pound.
The choice boxed beef cutout rose $0.57 to $316.91 per hundredweight, while select boxed beef prices jumped $2.13 to $287.16 per cwt, the USDA said.
Profit margins for beef processors fell to $1.70 per head of cattle from $8 per head on Friday and $58.40 per head a week ago, according to livestock marketing advisory service HedgersEdge.com.
