Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures weakened on Wednesday as quiet trade on the cash market fortified concerns about light demand, traders said.
Hog futures were narrowly mixed, with short-covering providing support, while worries that a firm U.S. dollar will chill export demand for pork added pressure.
Benchmark CME October live cattle futures settled down 0.8 cent at 144.25 cents/lb., with December also off 0.8 cent, at 150.075 cents (all figures US$).
CME October feeder cattle dropped 2.15 cents to close at 183.95 cents/lb.
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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.
CME October lean hogs dipped 0.025 cent to 91.075 cents/lb., while December hogs gained 0.1 cent to close at 83.6 cents/lb.
In the U.S. wholesale beef market, choice cuts rose $1.73, to $262.22 per hundredweight (cwt), by Wednesday morning. Select cuts were 17 cents lower at $239.13/cwt, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
USDA priced pork carcasses at $102.88/cwt on Wednesday morning, down $1.45 from Tuesday afternoon.
— Reporting for Reuters by Mark Weinraub in Chicago.
CORRECTION, Sept. 7: An earlier version of this article incorrectly carried a headline from a previous article which in cattle futures were reported to be up on the day.
