Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures closed mixed on Friday, with the front February contract gaining against deferred months as traders squared positions ahead of a quarterly U.S. government hog report due next week, traders said.
Most-active February hog futures settled up 0.45 cent at 80.8 cents/lb., while April hogs ended down 0.1 cent at 84.775 cents (all figures US$).
The fact that the February gained against the April could be a sign of market expectations for tightening hog supplies in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s quarterly Hogs and Pigs report, due for release on Dec. 23.
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“This is telling me that the odds are favourable that the ‘kept for market’ hog category could be bullish on the Hog and Pig (report) next week,” said Dennis Smith, commodity broker at Archer Financial.
Cash hog values firmed. The CME’s lean hog index, a two-day weighted average of cash hog prices, rose to 72.41 cents/lb., its highest since Nov. 24.
But wholesale pork values fell. USDA quoted the U.S. pork cutout at $85.82 per hundredweight (cwt) on Friday afternoon, down $5.67 from Thursday’s one-month high, as ham prices tumbled.
CME live cattle futures closed lower in range-bound trade. The February contract settled down 0.625 cent at 136.425 cents/lb. but stayed inside of Thursday’s trading range, finding chart support at its 100-day moving average near 136 cents.
CME January feeder cattle futures tumbled 2.325 cents to 160.25 cents/lb. and March feeders fell 2.625 cents at 161.7 cents.
Wholesale boxed beef prices appeared to stabilize after a six-week slide, with choice cuts up four cents at $263.01/cwt and select cuts up 14 cents at $248.28, according to USDA.
— Julie Ingwersen is a Reuters commodities correspondent in Chicago.
