Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange feeder cattle futures firmed on Thursday, rebounding from a sharp decline a day earlier on support from weakness in the corn market.
Live cattle futures also closed higher but hog contracts weakened, extending a sell-off that started on Wednesday as traders said the market remained technically overbought.
Analysts were expecting a U.S. Agriculture Department report on Friday afternoon to show the number of cattle on feed as of June 1 was 96.6 per cent of the year-earlier total. May placements were pegged at 101.7 per cent of May 2022 and May marketings at 101.6 per cent.
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The August CME feeder cattle contract gained 2.95 cents to 230.675 cents/lb., rising above the low end of its 20-day Bollinger range (all figures US$).
CME July hogs fell 2.9 cents, to 91.85 cents/lb. Most-active August hogs shed 2.8 cents, to 89.975 cents/lb. The August contract turned lower after hitting technical resistance at its 100-day moving average.
USDA priced the pork carcass cutout at $96.50 per cwt on Thursday afternoon, 42 cents higher than Wednesday.
CME’s benchmark August live cattle contract settled up 1.4 cents at 171.15 cents/lb., breaking through its 20-day moving average before hitting resistance as it neared its 10-day moving average.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture priced choice cuts of beef at $334.47 per hundredweight (cwt) on Thursday afternoon, 22 cents higher than a day earlier. Select cuts were 45 cents lower at $303.80/cwt.
Profit margins for meat packers rose to $165.30 per head of cattle, up from $142.48 on Wednesday and $145.85 a week ago, according to livestock marketing advisory service HedgersEdge.
— Mark Weinraub is a Reuters commodities correspondent in Chicago.
