Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) live cattle futures ended the week mixed on Friday, as traders and analysts said technical and algorithmic trading sent contract prices whipsawing during the session.
Feeder cattle futures firmed as Chicago corn futures posted a third straight weekly decline, as grain markets continued to react to a government forecast that U.S. farmers will produce a record-large crop this year.
Lean hog futures firmed early in the session, after the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that pork cutout prices for hog carcasses, bellies and hams all rose on Friday morning and stayed firm in the afternoon report, traders said.
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That follows Thursday’s choppy trade, where USDA’s weekly pork export report gave hog futures a boost on a bump in Chinese export sales.
“Hogs are bouncing around like a ball,” said Dan Norcini, an independent livestock trader.
In Thursday’s world agricultural supply and demand estimates (WASDE) report, USDA raised beef and pork production on higher slaughter pace. But the increases come as the market continues to question whether budget-concerned consumers will continue to choose chicken rather than pricier beef cuts.
“There’s residual concerns about consumer demand, particularly at a time of the year when people are shifting their focus to holiday turkey and ham,” Norcini said.
Beef packer margins improved slightly on Friday, compared with a day earlier, but were still firmly in the red and posting a bigger loss-per-head than a week earlier, Hedgersedge.com said.
CME most-active December hog futures settled 0.45 cent higher at 71.9 cents/lb. (all figures US$).
CME December live cattle futures settled down 0.175 cent at 174.175 cents/lb. Most-active February 2024 live cattle futures settled up 0.175 cent at 174.65 cents/lb.
January 2024 feeder cattle futures settled up 1.5 cents at 226.425 cents/lb.
— P.J. Huffstutter reports on agriculture and agribusiness for Reuters from Chicago.
