May 28 (Reuters) – Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures turned higher on Wednesday, supported by late Tuesday’s strong wholesale beef prices, traders said.
* Tuesday afternoon’s wholesale choice beef price rose $1.14 per hundredweight (cwt) from Monday to $233.12. Select cuts jumped $1.75 to $222.65, based on U.S. Department of Agriculture data.
* Packer cutbacks to avoid spending more for cattle, and increased beef demand for spring grilling, lifted wholesale beef prices, an analyst said.
* At 8:38 a.m. CDT (1338 GMT), June was up 0.450 cent per lb at 136.050 cents, and August gained 0.500 cent to 137.250 cents.
Read Also
Manitoba cattle prices, Nov. 17
* CME live cattle remained undervalued compared to recent prices for market-ready, or cash, cattle which encouraged buyers, he said.
* Late on Tuesday, a small number of cash cattle in Nebraska moved at $143 per cwt versus $145 to $146 last week, a feedlot source said.
* They said an isolated cash cattle bid of $142 was reported in Kansas. Last week, cash cattle in Texas and Kansas fetched $144 per cwt.
* Investors expect steady-to-weaker cash cattle returns this week, given more animals for sale and the looming seasonal increase in supplies.
* FEEDER CATTLE – August rose 1.450 cents per lb to 194.950, September climbed 1.175 cents to 195.975.
* Higher CME live cattle and weak corn prices lifted feeder cattle futures.
* LEAN HOGS – June was 1.450 cents per lb lower at 115.050 cents, and July fell 1.400 cents at 122.025 cents.
* CME hogs felt pressure from late Tuesday’s lower cash and wholesale pork prices, traders said.
* Tuesday afternoon’s hog price in the Iowa/Minnesota market fell $1.71 per (cwt) from Monday to $108.32, the USDA said.
* Separate government data showed the afternoon’s wholesale pork price slumped $2.17 per cwt from Monday to $112.89.
* Some processors reduced kills and allowed heavier hogs to counter supplies tightened by the deadly Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus.
* A few processors are sorting through a glut of hogs that may have developed in parts of the Midwest over the three-day holiday weekend.
* Futures are overvalued based on CME’s hog index, at 111.55 cents, which discouraged buyers.
* USDA data on Wednesday showed hog weights in Iowa/Minnesota for the week ended last Saturday averaged 286.7 lbs, down 0.8 lb from the week before but up 11.3 lbs from a year earlier. (Reporting by Theopolis Waters in Chicago; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
