December live cattle futures settle down - CME
Lean hog futures fall after two days of gains
14 November 2024
2 minute read
By: Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) lean hog futures lost ground on Wednesday on weakness in the pork cutout, Reuters reported, citing analysts, while cattle futures also retreated on falling wholesale prices.
Additional pressure on both beef and hogs stemmed from the last day of the five-session so-called "Goldman roll," in which the S&P GSCI index fund rolls long positions in December livestock contracts forward.
Lean hog futures fell after two days of large gains as pork cutout prices tumbled on Wednesday afternoon.
"The cutout took a big hit yesterday afternoon, and that set the stage this morning for sort of a pall, a negative sentiment going into today," said independent trader Dan Norcini.
Carcasses lost $0.42 to $97.26 per hundredweight (cwt) on Wednesday afternoon, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data, with pork bellies dipping $0.71 to $150.27 per cwt.
CME December lean hog futures finished down 0.475 cent at 81.875 cents per pound.
CME December live cattle futures settled down 0.375 cent to 184.025 cents per pound, while most-active January feeder cattle futures dipped 0.075 cent to close at 243.65 cents per pound.
In beef, Norcini said, falling boxed beef prices also dragged on cattle futures. Choice boxed beef prices fell $1.33 to $306.94 per cwt, while select boxed beef slid $1.26 to $278.66 per cwt, the US Department of Agriculture reported on Wednesday afternoon.
Norcini noted that the rib cut remained stronger ahead of the holidays, giving boxed beef some support on the day.
Beef packers remained in the red, losing an estimated $47.20 per head on Wednesday, up from losses of $49.95 per head on Tuesday and down from earnings of $6.35 per head last week, according to livestock marketing advisory service HedgersEdge.
