Chicago | Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) cattle futures closed higher on Thursday for the third straight session, as cold and snowy conditions in the U.S. Plains and Midwest this week helped to lift cash cattle prices, brokers said.
CME February live cattle LCG26 settled up 2.100 cents at 224.000 cents per pound after reaching 224.700 cents, the contract’s highest since November 12. CME January feeder cattle FCF26 rose 4.725 cents to end at 336.575 cents per pound.
Slaughter-ready cattle traded in Nebraska cash markets at $220 per hundredweight, traders said, up $10 from last week, reflecting demand from meat packers.
Read Also
U.S. grains: Corn, soybeans higher in technical bounce; wheat firms
Chicago | Reuters – Chicago corn futures rose modestly on Thursday on chart-based buying, firm cash markets and reminders of…
Meanwhile, frigid temperatures gripped the upper Midwest, with “widespread readings near or below minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 23 Celsius) early today, leading to stressful conditions for some livestock,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a daily weather note.
“Cold weather, that is a concern. You see feeders affected the most by that,” said Ted Seifried, chief market strategist for Zaner Ag Hedge. “Also, we just have not had any potentially bearish news…. And the stock market has gotten better, so we are feeling better about (meat) demand,” he said.
Traders shrugged off daily declines in wholesale beef prices. The USDA priced choice cuts on Thursday afternoon at $362.72 per cwt, down $1.09 from Wednesday, and select cuts fell by $2.80 to $350.32 per cwt.
In the hog market, CME February lean hog futures LHG26 settled up 0.830 cent at 81.850 cents per pound.
The USDA priced pork carcasses on Thursday afternoon at $93.33 per hundredweight, down $0.69 from Wednesday.
