US lean hog futures end mixed - CME
Live cattle futures rise on technicals, discount to cash market
4 July 2022
2 minute read
By: Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) live cattle futures rallied on Friday on technical buying and as the spot futures contract bridged its discount to the latest cash market prices, reported Reuters.
Spillover strength from rising feeder cattle futures amid sharply lower feed corn prices gave live cattle a further boost ahead of the long US Independence Day holiday weekend.
CME's benchmark August live cattle contract jumped 2.025 cents to 134.600 cents per pound after hitting a one-month low early in the prior day's session. Friday's rally took prices through several key technical chart points, including the 20-, 50- and 200-day moving averages.
August feeder cattle added 0.900 cent to settle at 174.500 cents per pound as corn futures fell sharply for a second straight session and ended down nearly 10% for the week.
Cash cattle traded at $137 to $138 per cwt in southern US Plains feedlot markets and as high as $151 per cwt further north in Nebraska, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). That premium to August futures gave the actively traded contract a lift.
A strong cattle slaughter pace was also supportive at an estimated 636,000 head for the week and a year-to-date level up 1% from the same point in 2021.
CME lean hogs ended mixed on Friday, with actively traded nearby contracts higher amid stronger cash pork values.
The USDA quoted the pork carcass cutout value at $108.75 per cwt on Friday, up $1.50 from the previous day.
August hogs ended 0.875 cent higher at 102.975 cents per pound after touching its lowest since May 13 during the previous session.
