Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange extended their rally on Monday, with strong cash prices and technical buyers pushing the market higher.
Live cattle contracts have risen for eight straight sessions and feeder cattle contracts have posted gains for five sessions in a row.
But hog futures closed weaker even as pork prices surged higher, as traders cited overbought technical conditions for a pause in the rally that had pushed prices to a two-week high on Friday.
Benchmark CME August live cattle futures settled up 0.375 cent at 173.275 cents/lb. after posting a fresh contract high of 174.425 cents (all figures US$). August feeder cattle finished up 0.7 cent at 242.6 cents/lb.
CME July lean hog futures settled down 0.5 cent at 84.15 cents/lb.
In the wholesale beef market, the U.S. Department of Agriculture priced choice cuts on Monday morning at $313.69/cwt, up $3.76 from Friday afternoon. Prices for select cuts jumped $5.16, to $296.09/cwt.
Wholesale pork prices hit their highest since mid-November, with the carcass cutout jumping $8.06, to $92.78/cwt, according to USDA data.
— Mark Weinraub is a Reuters commodities correspondent in Chicago.
