Chicago | Reuters — Benchmark December lean hog futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange continued their slide on Wednesday, hitting a nine-month low on recession worries and long liquidation.
CME October hogs ended up 0.675 cent at 89.375 cents/lb. (all figures US$). But most-active December hogs fell 0.425 cent to settle at 75.825 cents/lb. after dipping to 75.325 cents, the contract’s lowest since Dec. 21. Commodity funds hold a net long position in CME lean hog futures, leaving the market prone to bouts of long liquidation.
Wholesale pork prices steadied, with carcass values edging back above $100 per hundredweight (cwt) one day after dipping below that benchmark for the first time in four months. The U.S. Department of Agriculture priced pork carcasses on Wednesday afternoon at $100.77/cwt, up $1.76 from Tuesday.
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Traders await USDA’s quarterly Hogs and Pigs report on Thursday. Analysts surveyed by Reuters on average expect the government to report the U.S. hog herd was 0.8 per cent smaller on Sept. 1 than a year earlier.
USDA is also scheduled to release its weekly export sales report on Thursday, which should help traders to gauge the impact of a soaring dollar on export demand for U.S. pork and beef.
CME live cattle futures declined Wednesday for a sixth straight session on fears that a slowing U.S. economy could dent domestic demand for high-priced cuts of meat.
CME October live cattle settled down 0.525 cent at 143.05 cents/lb. and the most-active December contract fell 0.625 cent to end at 146.275 cents after touching 146.075 cents, a two-month low.
CME November feeder cattle settled one cent lower at 175.275 cents/lb.
In the cash market, fat cattle traded mostly steady this week at $143/cwt in the southern U.S. Plains and $144-$145 in Nebraska, traders said.
— Julie Ingwersen is a Reuters commodities correspondent in Chicago.
