Chicago | Reuters — Live cattle futures eased and feeder cattle tumbled to June lows at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on Thursday as poor margins for U.S. beef processors limited demand for livestock, brokers said.
A marketing-year low in weekly U.S. beef export sales also hung over the market.
Meat companies are grappling with tight U.S. cattle supplies and high beef prices after drought drove ranchers to reduce their herds in recent years. Processors were losing an estimated $52.35 per head of cattle they slaughtered on Thursday, livestock marketing advisory service HedgersEdge.com said.
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“The packers don’t have a lot of reason to go out there and pull the cattle ahead,” a commodity broker said.
CME December live cattle futures settled down 1.9 cents at 185.3 cents/lb. and touched their lowest price in more than a week at 184.95 cents (all figures US$).
November feeder cattle futures ended 5.225 cents lower at 244.5 cents/lb. and hit their lowest price since June 27 at 243.825 cents. Most-active January feeder cattle settled down 5.525 cents at 245.375 cents/lb. and touched their lowest price since June 28 at 244.675 cents.
On Friday, analysts expect the U.S. Department of Agriculture to report the number of cattle in U.S. feedlots on Oct. 1 was down slightly from a year ago. Cattle marketing in September is expected to be down nearly 10 per cent from a year earlier, while placements are seen up slightly.
USDA said on Thursday that weekly U.S. beef export sales were 400 metric tonnes for 2023, down 97 per cent from the prior four-week average. For pork, weekly U.S. export sales for 2023 rose 10 per cent from the prior four-week average to 30,700 tonnes.
CME December lean hog futures ended down 0.025 cent at 68 cents/lb. and traded near a contract low of 67.3 cents reached on Tuesday, while deferred months turned slightly higher.
— Tom Polansek reports on agriculture and ag commodities for Reuters from Chicago.
