Chicago | Reuters — Live cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange rose on Wednesday for a third straight session, buoyed by broad strength in commodities along with firming cash cattle prices, traders said.
A blizzard crossing the northern Plains lent support, raising concern about stress on cattle in the Dakotas, but the storm was expected to exit the region on Thursday.
CME June live cattle futures settled up 0.575 cent at 136.875 cents/lb. after reaching 137.1 cents, the contract’s highest since April 1 (all figures US$). May feeder cattle futures ended up 1.025 cents at 161.95 cents/lb.
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Speculators have been steering funds into commodities including crude oil, grains and livestock as a hedge against inflation. Cattle futures got a lift from strength in crude oil and other markets, said Matt Wiegand, a commodity broker for Nebraska-based FuturesOne.
“A lot of it today was a ‘risk on’ day, with the way the energies rebounded from the Monday sell-off,” Wiegand said.
Cash markets were supportive to futures. Fat cattle have traded in the southern Plains cash market this week at $139 per hundredweight (cwt), up $1 from the bulk of last week’s trades.
Wholesale beef prices paused after rising for most of the last five weeks, supported by the approach of the U.S. summer grilling season. USDA reported choice cuts down $1.11 at $272.36/cwt, a day after hitting a two-month high at $273.47.
Lean hog futures ended lower on a round of profit-taking, following Tuesday’s three per cent climb in the benchmark June hog contract. But the market had underlying support from worries about tightening U.S. hog supplies.
CME June lean hogs settled down 0.875 cent at 117.6 cents/lb.
U.S. wholesale pork prices firmed. USDA reported the pork carcass value at $108.53/cwt on Wednesday afternoon, up $1.73 from Tuesday.
— Julie Ingwersen is a Reuters commodities correspondent in Chicago.
