Live cattle futures edge higher - CME
Lean hogs hit 5-mth peak on demand
8 October 2024
2 minute read
By: Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) lean hog futures advanced on Monday to the highest point in nearly five months on technical buying and seasonal strength, Reuters reported, citing analysts.
Live cattle futures also edged higher on a strong cash market, although large cattle weights and beef demand worries amid a slumping stock market limited gains and kept the market range-bound, they said.
"The hog market is finding support from seasonal demand but the cattle market is more of a trading range mindset," said Mike Zuzolo, president of Global Commodity Analytics.
"Cattle are almost 40 pounds heavier than last year at this time, and we have a weaker stock market. I would say cattle is hemmed in by strong negotiated cash prices at the end of last week versus big weights and a weaker stock market," he said.
Wall Street's three major indexes closed down around 1% on Monday, as traders tamped down bets for Federal Reserve interest-rate easing and worried about the Middle East conflict's impact on oil prices.
Benchmark CME December lean hog futures jumped 0.675 cent to end at 76.825 cents per pound after earlier touching their highest price since mid May. Lightly traded spot October hogs shed 0.050 cent to end at 83.975 cents.
CME December live cattle futures settled up 0.025 cent at 187.025 cents per pound. CME November feeder cattle futures ended down 0.125 cent at 249.150 cents per pound.
Cattle futures are very overbought technically following a recent run to multi-month highs, and managed funds are holding a large net long position in the market.
