U.S. livestock: Live cattle steady to lower; feeders, hogs climb

Live cattle futures were steady to lower on Tuesday, backing away from record highs as speculative profit-taking weighed on prices.

Chicago Mercantile Exchange most active February live cattle closed at 197.400 cents per pound, unchanged from yesterday. The second-most active April futures closed at 198.150, down 0.050 cents from Monday.

Feeder cattle remained pointed higher, with the Commitments of Traders report released after Monday’s close showing fund traders holding a record-large long position in the market.

Most active March feeder cattle settled at 268.200, up 0.300 cents from yesterday. January feeder cattle futures closed at 274.100, up 2.250 cents a pound.

Choice boxed beef was priced at $332.98 per cwt this afternoon, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported. This was down $0.37 per cwt from yesterday. Select beef was priced at $318.71, up $1.14 per cwt.

Lean hog futures continued their climb for the fourth day. Most active February lean hogs closed at 83.625 cents a pound, up 0.450 from yesterday. April lean hogs settled at 90.500, up 1.200 cents per pound.

—Prices in USD unless otherwise noted

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