Chicago | Reuters — Lean hog futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange fell on Friday on follow-through technical selling one day after the benchmark June contract closed lower in a huge reversal from a life-of-contract high.
CME benchmark June lean hogs settled down 0.175 cent at 120.40 cents/lb., retreating farther from the contract high set Thursday at 127.325 cents (all figures US$). Commodity funds hold net long positions in CME lean hog and live cattle futures, leaving both markets vulnerable to bouts of long liquidation.
Hog futures cooled after the June contract rose 6.3 per cent during March, its fifth straight monthly advance, reflecting tightening hog supplies. The U.S. Department of Agriculture this week reported the U.S. hog herd at a smaller-than-expected 72.2 million head as of March 1, down 2.3 per cent from a year ago.
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CME live cattle futures closed lower Friday on technical selling, with the most-active June contract ending down 1.275 cents at 135.85 cents/lb. The contract broke through support at its 20-day moving average near 136 cents and was approaching its 200-day moving average near 135.2 cents.
May feeder cattle fell 0.425 cent to finish at 166.125 cents/lb., pressured by rising prices for corn that imply higher feed costs. New-crop corn futures climbed this week after USDA projected a four per cent drop in U.S. corn plantings for 2022.
— Julie Ingwersen is a Reuters commodities correspondent in Chicago.
