Chicago | Reuters—Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) live cattle futures were mixed on Monday, with nearby contracts turning lower as traders adjusted their positions after a neutral government supply report last week, market analysts said.
Nearby feeder cattle futures firmed slightly on technical trading, reports of steady cash cattle market prices, and demand going into the short Christmas holiday week.
Lean hog futures stumbled before the U.S. Department of Agriculture released its quarterly hogs and pigs report.
The report, issued after the day’s trading session ended, showed that the U.S. hog herd as of Dec. 1 was 75.8 million head, up slightly from a year earlier and above the average expectations of analysts surveyed by Reuters.
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The report also showed the number of hogs kept for breeding was within a range of analysts’ expectations, and the number of pigs per litter continued to grow.
CME February lean hog futures LHG25 settled down 1.550 cents to 84.375 cents per pound.
In the cattle markets, January feeder cattle FCF25 settled up 1 cent to 256.600 cents per pound, while February live cattle LCG25 ended down 0.950 cent to 187.450 cents per pound.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Cattle on Feed report, which was released after the market’s close on Friday, showed November cattle placements were down four per cent from the previous year but above the average trade estimate.
November cattle marketings were down one per cent from the previous year and slightly above the average analyst estimate.
A drop in wholesale prices for choice beef cutouts also weighed on live cattle futures on Monday, analysts said.
Choice boxed beef was 80 cents lower, falling to $315.05 per hundredweight (cwt), the USDA reported on Monday morning. Select boxed beef gained $1.92 to $287.83 per cwt.
