Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures rose on Monday, with the front-month contract hitting its highest since April 22, on expectations for a pick-up in demand from top pork consumer China, traders said.
The most-active July hog futures contract ended firm for the sixth time in the last seven sessions, but faced technical resistance at its 30-day moving average.
The nearby June hogs contract added 1.5 cents, to 110.375 cents/lb., while July futures gained 1.85 cents, to 110.85 cents/lb.
“China looking to ease lockdowns short-term potentially stabilizes demand further as herd liquidation slows,” brokerage FuturesOne said in a note to clients.
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The daily hog slaughter was reported at 473,000 head, down from 479,000 a year ago.
Cattle futures also were firm, with CME June live cattle futures gaining 1.2 cents to 132.775 cents/lb., while the most-active August live cattle rose 1.425 cents to 132.975 cents/lb. CME August feeder cattle ended 1.7 cents higher at 165.625 cents/lb.
Prices for choice cuts of boxed beef were reported at $263.70/cwt on Monday morning, up 92 cents from Friday afternoon while select cuts rose to $245.18 from $245.03/cwt, according to U.S. Agriculture Department data.
After the close, USDA said that frozen beef stocks as of April 30 stood at 531.728 million lbs., up 18.5 per cent from a year earlier.
Frozen pork supplies rose to 530.244 million lbs. from 456.921 million.
— Mark Weinraub is a Reuters commodities correspondent in Chicago.
