Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle and hogs made healthy gains on Wednesday ahead of this month’s cattle on feed report.
Most active June live cattle settled at 202.075 cents per pound, up 2.275 cents while August live cattle closed at 198.950 cents, up 2.100 cents per pound.
Most active May feeder cattle futures closed at 284.400 cents per pound, up 1.875 cents. August feeder cattle settled at 289.450 cents a pound, up 1.200 cents.
Most active June lean hogs closed at 97.950 cents per pound, up 2.775 cents, while July hog contracts settled at 97.900 cents, up 2.425 cents per pound.
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Afternoon boxed beef and pork cutout data was delayed due to packer submission issues, the USDA said.
The USDA’s cattle on feed report is due Thursday ahead of the Good Friday long weekend. The report is expected to show over 11 million cattle on feed, wrote analyst Christopher B. Swift.
“I continue to scratch my head wondering when we are going to run out of cattle as there are already no more cattle,” Swift said. “Some how, some where, these cattle just keep showing up on feed when there are no more cattle, with very little historical weight differentials when placed.”
Swift predicted cattle supplies would be less of a concern in the future as consumers reduce spending.
