Chicago | Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures slid on Wednesday on a round of profit taking following multi-month highs set during the previous session, analysts said.
Cattle futures had climbed the previous day on a tight cattle supply and strong packer demand.
“We were fairly overbought in the short term, so you saw some profit taking,” said Matthew Wiegand, broker at FuturesOne.
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CME March feeder cattle futures FCH26 settled 2.425 cents lower at 359.70 cents per pound and February live cattle futures LCG26 settled 2.1 cents lower to end at 235.15 cents per pound. Both hit their highest levels since late October in the previous session.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture quoted the choice boxed beef cutout value at $359.33 per cwt as of Wednesday morning, up 1.34 cents from Tuesday. Select cuts rose by 33 cents to $357.51 per cwt.
Strong cash cattle prices and firm consumer demand have kept a bottom on prices, analysts said.
The continued closure of the U.S.-Mexico border to feeder cattle imports due to the spread of New World screwworm has compressed the cattle supply.
CME lean hog futures ticked higher on technical buying and higher pork carcass cutout values.
Actively traded February hog futures LHG26 ended 1.075 cents higher at 85.70 cents per pound.
