Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures closed sharply lower on Tuesday, racked by profit-taking and fund liquidation, traders said. April closed 2.4 cents lower at 151.05 cents, and June down 2.125 cents, to 143.675 cents (all figures US$). Funds sold after April and June drifted below their 40-day moving average of […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Profit-taking sinks CME live cattle, hogs

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle rise on discounts to cash prices
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures closed higher on Monday, supported by their discount to what packers paid for market-ready (cash) cattle last week, traders said. “We had the board (futures) too cheap when the February contract expired last Friday,” said Vetterkind Cattle Brokerage president Troy Vetterkind. April closed 1.75 cents […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Hog futures rebound with pork prices
Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hogs on Friday bounced back from Thursday’s losses, sparked by the uptick in wholesale pork values, traders said. April futures closed up 0.325 cents per pound, to 67.475 cents, with May 0.6 cents higher at 79.9 cents (all figures US$). Friday afternoon’s wholesale pork price jumped $2.38 […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Profit-taking breaks CME hogs’ six-day win streak
Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hogs fell on Thursday for the first time in seven days, pressured by profit-taking on the eve of February’s final trading day, traders said. April futures closed 2.175 cents per pound lower at 67.15 cents, with May down 2.6 cents at 79.3 cents (all figures US$). Some […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME hogs post more gains on cash prices
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hogs posted their sixth straight higher settlement on Wednesday as prices for market-ready (cash) hogs edged upward, traders said. April futures closed 0.75 cent per pound higher at 69.325 cents, and May up 2.85 cents at 81.9 cents (all figures US$). Wednesday morning’s average cash hog price […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME hog futures rise again with cash prices
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) lean hogs rose for a fifth session in a row on Tuesday, helped by short-covering in response to rising prices for market-ready (cash) hogs, traders said. April futures closed 0.25 cent per pound higher at 68.575 cents, and May up 0.8 cent, to 79.05 cents (all figures […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME hogs rally on cash prices, port dispute end
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hogs finished higher on Monday on strong cash prices and the resumption of cargo loading following Friday’s West Coast port labour agreement, traders said. CME hogs drew more support from the dockworker deal because the U.S. exports more pork than beef and poultry. Monday morning’s average market-ready […] Read more

Swollen U.S. meat inventories mirror strong demand headwinds
Chicago | Reuters –– Slumping demand for meat on the U.S. West and East Coasts boosted pork, beef and chicken inventories to some of their highest levels in years, analysts said following Friday’s U.S. Department of Agriculture monthly cold storage report. Meat processors and grocers normally stash hams in freezers before the Easter holiday and […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle slump before USDA report
Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle fell Friday on lower cash prices before the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly Cattle-On-Feed report at 2 p.m. CT, traders said. Analysts expect Friday’s report to show a sizable drop in the number of cattle placed into feedlots last month. This week, market-ready (cash) cattle in […] Read more

West Coast port impasse beefs up U.S. meat stockpile
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. meat exporters caught in the middle of the West Coast port labour standoff diverted millions of pounds of chilled pork and beef into cold storage facilities over the last few weeks, creating an oversupply of meat, analysts said. Redirected protein shipments come as frozen inventories are starting to build ahead […] Read more