Live cattle falls from contract highs - CME
Most-active June lean hog futures end down
4 April 2023
2 minute read
By: Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) live cattle futures slumped on Monday as profit-taking dragged prices down after the market set new contract highs, Reuters reported, citing traders.
CME June live cattle ended down 0.900 cent at 161.225 cents per pound, after reaching a high of 162.525 cents per pound. That exceeded Friday's high of 162.175 cents per pound.
Strong cash prices last week lifted futures before the setback, analysts said. Concerns about tightening US cattle supplies and cold, snowy conditions hitting cattle in the northern US Plains help support for futures, they said.
CME feeder cattle futures also ended lower on profit-taking and as a rise in corn prices signaled potentially higher costs for animal feed, traders said.
CME May feeders ended down 2.100 cents at 203.150 cents per pound.
Meatpackers slaughtered an estimated 124,000 cattle on Monday, up from 121,000 cattle a year ago, and 485,000 hogs, up from 478,000 hogs a year ago, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said.
Hog traders continued to digest producers' lower-than-expected intentions for mother pigs to give birth to baby piglets this spring and summer, analysts said. The data, issued in an USDA report on Thursday, was seen as a bit bullish for deferred hog futures, they said.
Most-active CME June lean hog futures ended down 0.200 cent at 91.425 cents per pound, while July hogs rose 0.300 cent to 94.325 cents per pound.
Front-month April hogs remained under pressure. The contract ended down 0.725 cent at 74.525 cents per pound and reached a contract low of 74.125 cents per pound.
The USDA priced the pork carcass cutout at $78.32 per hundredweight (cwt), up $1.04 from Friday. Belly values climbed by $8.07 to $86.83 per cwt, while ham values dropped $3.58 to $67.23 per cwt.
