Chicago | Reuters—Chicago Mercantile Exchange livestock futures firmed on Wednesday, as technical buying sent lean hog contracts higher and cash market prices staying firm giving cattle futures a boost, market analysts said.
CME December lean hog futures LHZ24 settled up 2.150 cents at 76.750 cents per pound, while nearby October hogs LHV24 ended up 1.175 cents at 84.675 cents.
Benchmark CME December live cattle LCZ24 settled up 2.525 cents at 187.700 cents per pound. CME November feeder cattle futures FCX24 ended up 3.875 cents at 248.550 cents per pound.
Technical buying, with funds adding to their positions, added support to cattle futures on Wednesday, said Karl Setzer, partner at Consus Ag Consulting.
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“It’s the ongoing story of the tight cattle inventory, and the fact that feeders right now are hard to come by,” Setzer said.
Cash cattle markets continue to see prices in the steady to higher range, analysts said, though trade has been at a relative standstill.
And firmness in wholesale choice beef prices offered some support. The U.S. Department of Agriculture priced choice cuts of boxed beef on Wednesday morning at $300.25 per hundredweight (cwt), up 8 cents from Tuesday. Select cuts fell by $1.57 to $283.73 per cwt.
“With strength in the U.S. dollar, traders are thinking that consumer spending could improve, which also helped boost the rally in red meat today,” Setzer said.
Market analysts said traders this week will be closely watching for ripple effects from the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast dockworkers’ first large-scale strike in nearly 50 years.
The strike, which entered its second day on Wednesday, halted the flow of about half the country’s ocean shipping and has impacted some beef and frozen seafood product imports, traders and industry members said.
