Chicago | Reuters—Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) nearby cattle future contracts turned higher on Monday as stronger-than-expected domestic seasonal demand and firm prices in the cash market gave futures a boost, market analysts said.
But back-month cattle futures contracts turned lower, pressured by Friday’s U.S. Department of Agriculture report of larger-than-expected number of cattle placed into feedlots.
Cash cattle ended last week on a hefty note, with cattle trading on Friday at $197 and $199 per hundredweight (cwt) in the Corn Belt and at $189 per cwt in the southern markets, traders said.
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While such cash trade and prices are expected to remain relatively steady this week, these rates still put futures prices at a deep discount to the cash market, said Don Roose, president of U.S. Commodities Inc in West Des Moines, Iowa.
Boxed beef prices also turned higher on Monday morning, with choice cuts priced at $322.40 per cwt, up 1 cent from Friday, and select cuts up 72 cents at $303.83 per cwt, according to the USDA.
Meanwhile, CME lean hog futures turned sharply lower on technical selling, as slaughter levels and tonnage weights of pork stayed elevated on sluggish domestic demand, traders said.
“The exports for the year are fairly strong, but the domestic demand is soft,” Roose said. “For the futures to turn around, the market needs to fix that domestic demand.”
CME July hogs LHN24 closed 2.100 cents lower, at 89.950 cents per pound. Most-active August hogs LHQ24 settled down 2.600 cents at 86.725 cents per pound, and set a new contract low of 86.275 cents per pound.
Five other lean hog futures contracts – October LHV24, December LHZ24, February 2025 LHG25, April 2025 LHJ25 and May 2025 LHK25 – also set new contract lows.
CME August live cattle LCQ24 settled 1.675 cents higher, at 184.825 cents per pound. CME August feeder cattle FCQ24 ended up 0.525 cent, to end at 258.900 cents per pound.
