Both live and feeder cattle futures made healthy gains to start the trading week at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and boxed beef continued to climb on strong consumer demand.
Most active June live cattle settled at 201.075 cents a pound, up 1.725 cents. April contracts closed at 205.025 cents a pound, up 1.850 cents.
Most active May feeder cattle closed at 285.300 cents a pound, up 2.650 cents. April feeders settled at 284.200 cents per pound, for a gain of 3.000 cents.
Choice boxed beef gained $2.89 per cwt to close at $321.16, the USDA reported. Select boxed beef was valued at $307.90 per cwt, up $1.58.
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U.S. livestock: Feeder cattle extend rally to new highs
Chicago Mercantile Exchange feeder cattle futures extended gains to record highs on Wednesday while live cattle futures set a contract high before pulling back.
A shortage of high-quality cattle and beef supplies is behind the surge in boxed beef prices, wrote analyst Jim Wyckoff.
“Choice-grade boxed beef cutout values late last week were above $315.00 amid solid daily movement of boxed beef,” he said. “That suggests still-solid consumer demand for beef.”
Most active April lean hog futures settled at 88.075 cents per pound, up 1.450 cents. June lean hogs closed at 99.125 cents, up 2.825 cents per a pound.
The USDA put pork carcass cutout value at $97.65 per cwt, a gain of $0.27.
—Values reported in U.S. dollars
