Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures eased on Friday, with ample supplies weighing on prices due to a heavy pace of slaughter this year.
Live cattle futures were steady to weak in rangebound trade, with light activity in the cash market hanging over prices.
February lean hog futures dropped 1.15 cents, to 75.875 cents/lb., but managed to stay above the 13-month low of 75.6 cents that the front-month contract hit on Thursday (all figures US$).
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Cattle futures climbed again on Friday as USDA data showed a continued decline in cattle on feed. Hogs also rose.
Most-active April hogs dropped 0.55 cent, to 86.45 cents/lb. Technical support was noted at the contract’s 10-day moving average.
For the week, April hog futures rose 0.8 per cent, snapping a string of four straight weekly losses.
Hog slaughter has totaled 10.102 million head so far in January, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Friday. That was up 2.2 per cent from the same period of 2022.
Separately, USDA reported pork carcass prices at $79.04 per hundredweight (cwt) on Friday morning, $1.42 lower than the price on Thursday afternoon.
CME February live cattle settled unchanged at 156.725 cents/lb., and most-active April was up 0.3 cent, to 160.825 cents/lb.
April live cattle futures posted a weekly gain of 0.6 per cent.
CME March feeder cattle futures gained 0.625 cent to settle at 183.475 cents per pound.
— Reporting for Reuters by Mark Weinraub in Chicago.
