Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile exchange lean hog futures dropped sharply on Monday, with numerous contracts closing down the daily three-cent limit on a round of profit-taking after the front-month contract hit its highest since June 2014 last week.
“We have had a strong run and we are coming up a little bit short on fresh bullish inputs,” said Matthew Wiegand, a risk management consultant and commodity broker at FuturesOne in Nebraska. “That creates a bit of an opportunity for profit taking in the absence of something to take us higher.”
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CME June lean hogs dropped three cents, to 105.95 cents/lb. (all figures US$). The May and July contracts also posted limit-down moves but losses in the front-month April contract were kept in check from tight supplies in the cash market.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported the pork carcass cutout value on Monday afternoon at $110.10, down $3.07 from the nearly 11-month high it hit on Friday.
Cattle contracts also ended in negative territory.
CME June live cattle settled 0.475 cent lower at 122.1 cents/lb.
Live cattle was pressured by follow-through selling as the market extended its retreat from a 15-month high the front-month contract hit on Thursday.
Feeder cattle also eased, with the May futures contract shedding 0.025 cents, to 149.6 cents/lb.
— Mark Weinraub is a Reuters commodities correspondent in Chicago.
