Chicago | Reuters — CME livestock futures were mixed on Tuesday, with hog contracts falling on a round of profit taking while cattle contracts firmed on bargain buying.
The benchmark December lean hog contract faced pressure after hitting its highest since Sept. 13, 2019, while February live cattle, which had fallen for four days in a row, recovered after bottoming out at its lowest since June 29.
January feeder cattle firmed after hitting its lowest since April 15.
“We have had a significant break on the cattle technically and I think we just reached levels where we were oversold,” said Don Roose of U.S. Commodities in West Des Moines, Iowa.
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As the harvest in southern Alberta presses on, a broker said that is one of the factors pulling feed prices lower in the region. Darcy Haley, vice-president of Ag Value Brokers in Lethbridge, added that lower cattle numbers in feedlots, plentiful amounts of grass for cattle to graze and a lacklustre export market also weighed on feed prices.
Gains in the cattle markets were muted by concerns that rising COVID-19 cases could keep people at home, which would slash restaurant demand for beef.
CME December lean hogs fell 2.175 cents to 69.25 cents/lb., the biggest daily drop in three weeks (all figures US$).
Support was noted around the contract’s 10-day moving average, a key technical point it has not traded below in two weeks.
CME February live cattle futures rose 0.475 cent to 108.65 cents/lb.
January feeder cattle gained 1.475 cents to 126.7 cents/lb
— Mark Weinraub is a Reuters commodities correspondent in Chicago.
