Live cattle futures end higher on firm cash markets - CME
Hogs futures end lower
11 June 2024
2 minute read
By: Live cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) closed higher on Monday, halting a four-session slide, supported by last week's strong cash cattle prices and technical buying at a time when US cattle supplies continue to tighten, Reuters reported, citing analysts.
CME August live cattle settled up 2.800 cents at 179.975 cents per pound, climbing above its 20-, 100- and 200-day moving averages. CME August feeder cattle settled up 3.725 cents at 258.650 cents per pound.
Live cattle futures remained at a discount to cash prices after market-ready cattle traded in the southern Plains last week at $185 per hundredweight (cwt), the equivalent of 185 cents per pound.
"It's mainly the cash market still being firm, and some technical buying," Doug Houghton, analyst at Brock Associates, said of Monday's higher close.
Strong wholesale beef prices lent support. The choice boxed beef cutout price rose $0.67 per cwt on Monday to $317.42, the highest since August 2023, according to US Department of Agriculture data.
Beef production in recent weeks has been running above the year-ago pace due to higher cattle weights, Houghton said.
"That is keeping a lid on prices to some extent. But the outlook is still for US cattle supplies to keep tightening. That is the underlying strength in this market," Houghton added.
CME hog futures ended lower on ample US hog supplies and continuing weakness in the Mexican peso, which fell to its lowest against the US dollar in more than a year on Monday. Mexico is the largest buyer of US pork.
Most-active CME July hog futures settled down 0.600 cent at 92.900 cents per pound.
