Chicago | Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures backpedaled on Thursday from a one-week high reached during the previous session, while live cattle futures strengthened.
Hog futures eased after wholesale U.S. pork prices pulled back from a jump on Tuesday.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture priced the pork carcass cutout at $97.02 per hundredweight (cwt), down $6.63 from late on Tuesday. Pork bellies fell by $5.54 per cwt, after tumbling by more than $19 per cwt on Wednesday.
CME July hogs LHN24 settled down 0.925 cents at 92.775 cents per pound.
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Ample U.S. supplies have weighed on the hog market, which slumped to a five-month low last week. Average hog weights were 289 pounds in the week ended June 8, down slightly from a week earlier but up from 279.9 pounds a year ago, according to USDA data.
The USDA on Thursday reported net U.S. pork export sales for 2024 were 30,100 metric tons in the week ended June 6, down one per cent from the prior four-week average. For beef, weekly U.S. export sales of 12,000 metric tons for 2024 were down 28 per cent from the prior four-week average.
Boxed beef prices inched higher, though, with choice cuts priced at $318.31 per cwt, up 71 cents from Wednesday, and select cuts up 32 cents at $299.25 per cwt.
CME August live cattle LCQ24 settled up 1.175 cents at 179.5 cents per pound. CME August feeder cattle FCQ24 ended down 0.100 cent at 257.475 cents per pound.
