Live and feeder cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange showed small losses on Thursday, while lean hog futures made gains in consecutive sessions.
The August live cattle contract declined 22.5 U.S. cents per hundredweight to end the day at US$223.675. Meanwhile, October live cattle dropped 42.5 U.S. cents/cwt to close at US$220.325.
August and September feeder cattle contracts had their first losses in three sessions. The August contract lost 57.5 U.S. cents/cwt to a closing price of US$325. September feeder cattle shed 42.5 U.S. cents/cwt on its way to US$325.425.
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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.
The spread between choice and select boxes grew on Thursday afternoon. Choice boxes added 43 U.S. cents/cwt at US$373.28, while select boxes surrendered US$4.07/cwt at US$353.84.
Lean hogs extended their rally with the August contract adding US$1.400/cwt to close at US$105.825, while the October contract advanced US$1.900/cwt to end the day at US$90.600.
The United States Department of Agriculture reported pork export sales for the week ended July 10 at 17,100 tonnes, down 30 per cent from the week before. Exports for the week were 26,500 tonnes with most of them going to Mexico and China.
