Live cattle, lean hogs fall - CME
Most retailers have completed purchases for holiday sales
7 December 2022
1 minute read
By: Live cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) slid on Tuesday, pressured by falling wholesale beef prices, reported Reuters.
"We had a really disappointing box beef value fall off to start the week yesterday, and a little follow through today," said Matthew Wiegand, risk management consultant at FuturesOne.
Most retailers have completed purchases for holiday sales, Wiegand added.
"The retailers have their prime ribs booked for Christmas, so there’s probably less aggressive retail buying until we get out past Christmas."
CME benchmark February live cattle fell 2.200 cents to 153.625 cents per pound, while the spot December contract lost 1.675 cent to 151.550 cents per pound.
Most-active CME January feeder cattle lost 1.975 cents to 181.800 cents per pound.
Boxed beef prices fell again on Tuesday, with choice cuts losing 66 cents to $242.65 per cwt., while select cuts lost $1.97 cents to $219.14 per cwt., the USDA said.
Meanwhile, lean hogs dropped, pressured by ample market-ready supplies, despite strong slaughter runs.
"Seems like there are still enough market-ready hogs, short term," said Wiegand.
CME February lean hogs lost 3.600 cents to 86.925 cents per pound.
Nearby December hogs firmed 0.200 cent to 82.275 cents per pound.
The CME's lean hog index, a two-day weighted average of cash hog prices, eased 8 cents to $82.79 per cwt.
