Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange feeder cattle futures declined on Friday as a spike in crop prices signaled higher costs for livestock feed, brokers said.
Grain and soybean futures rallied at the Chicago Board of Trade on concerns that unfavourable heat and dryness in the U.S. Midwest will limit yields in the upcoming autumn harvests.
CME September feeder cattle futures ended down 2.05 cents at 182.2 cents/lb., after rising earlier in the session to their highest since Monday (all figures US$). Most-active October feeders slid 2.125 cents to close at 183.4 cents.
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Live cattle futures also weakened, with the October contract settling 0.6 cent lower at 143.05 cents/lb.
Prices for choice cuts of boxed beef fell 78 cents, to $262.76 per hundredweight (cwt), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said. Select cuts rose $1.22, to $238.76/cwt.
In the CME hog market, futures were mixed. Most-active October lean hogs settled down 0.45 cent at 90.65 cents/lb., while December hogs rose 0.325 cent to 82.95 cents/lb.
Meatpackers slaughtered an estimated 451,000 hogs on Friday, down from 467,000 hogs a week ago and 463,000 hogs a year earlier, USDA said. Packers slaughtered an estimated 123,000 cattle, up from 122,000 cattle a week ago and 116,000 cattle a year ago, the agency said.
— Reporting for Reuters by Tom Polansek in Chicago.
