US cattle end mostly lower - CME
Lean hogs end mixed
13 January 2023
2 minute read
By: Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) lean hog futures ended mixed on Thursday, with actively traded nearby months down on weak pork prices and dull demand, while deferred contracts rose on expectations for tighter supplies in coming months, Reuters reported, citing traders.
The February hog contract was down for the tenth time in 11 sessions and hit its lowest level in three months on weak cash hog prices and as the closely followed wholesale pork cutout value fell to the lowest in nearly two years.
"We're not seeing great demand from packers and the pork cutout is still drifting lower," said Matthew Wiegand, broker with FuturesOne.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) quoted the pork cutout at $79.33 per cwt on Thursday, down $1.35 from the prior day and lowest since Jan. 20, 2021.
CME February lean hogs ended 0.550 cent lower at 78.750 cents per pound while April futures were down 1.225 cents at 87.175 cents per pound. Deferred contracts were 0.550 cent lower to 0.825 higher.
Live cattle futures were mostly lower as beef prices eased and as rallying corn futures pressured feeder cattle contracts.
Limited cash cattle sales at feedlot markets in the Plains were at prices largely steady with last week.
The USDA quoted the choice boxed beef cutout BEEF-US-CH at $277.49 per cwt on Thursday, down $3.24 from the prior day, while select cuts BEEF-US-SE were down $1.09 at $257.01 per cwt.
February live cattle ended 0.200 cent lower at 157.550 cents per pound while April futures were down 0.400 cent at 160.925 cents. March feeder cattle futures fell 1.275 cents to 184.275 cents per pound.
