Live cattle make gains, hog futures set new contract highs
Concerns about supply are driving pork prices
28 March 2022
1 minute read
By: Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) hog futures rallied on Friday, with most contracts setting new highs as strong prices for pork and concerns about supplies underpinned the market, reported Reuters.
Most-active June lean hog futures jumped 3.775 cents to finish at 125.85 cents per pound, closing above the high end of its 20-day Bollinger range after facing resistance at that key technical point on Thursday.
The contract peaked at its all-time high of 126.15 cents during the session.
CME's most-active June live cattle gained 0.425 cent to 137.375 cents per pound.
May feeder cattle futures fell 1.175 cents to 165.325 cents per pound. The contract dropped below its five-day and 20-day moving averages.
A US Department of Agriculture (USDA) report on Friday afternoon showed that the amount of cattle on feed as of 1 March was 101% of the year-earlier total. Analysts had been expecting the report to show 101.1%.
Placements during February were 109% of February 2021, topping market forecasts for 106.1%, and marketings were 105% of the year-ago total, also above trade forecasts for 104.2% of the year-ago total.
Choice cuts of boxed beef fell by 32 cents to $262.09 per cwt by Friday morning, according to USDA data. Select cuts were $1.55 lower at $251.04 per cwt.
