* CME live cattle end mixed in quiet trading
* Feeder cattle futures weakened by firm corn
* CME resumes lean hog, feeder cattle indexes
* USDA delays monthly cattle, storage reports
By Theopolis Waters
CHICAGO, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile Exchange hogs
ended lower for a third straight session on Monday, pressured by
weaker cash hog and wholesale pork prices.
December hogs closed 0.475 cent per lb lower at
87.475 cents and February finished at 89.650 cents, down
0.400 cent.
U.S. Department of Agriculture data on Monday morning showed
the average price of hogs in the eastern Midwest market at
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Manitoba cattle prices, Oct. 17
$87.27 per hundredweight (cwt), down $1.68 from Friday. Hog
prices in other parts of the Midwest were unavailable.
The wholesale pork price, or cutout, was at $94.12 per cwt
on Monday morning, down 18 cents from Friday.
Packers will resist raising cash hog bids given their thin
operating margins and plentiful supplies.
Nutrient-rich newly harvested corn and cool fall weather are
allowing hogs to put on weight quickly, making them readily
available for processors.
Margins for U.S. pork packers on Monday were estimated at a
positive $0.95 per head, compared with a positive $5.40 on
Friday and a positive $6.00 a week ago, according to
HedgersEdge.com.
Investors await the release on Tuesday of CME's first lean
hog index since the exchange suspended the data due to the
partial U.S. government shutdown.
TWO-SIDED LIVE CATTLE TRADE
CME live cattle settled mixed after a quiet day of trading
on Monday.
October futures gained with higher beef prices that stirred
expectations for at least steady cash prices for this week,
traders said.
They said futures' modest premiums to last week's cash
cattle prices and profit taking pressured the CME live cattle
December contract.
Live cattle October closed up 0.250 cent per lb at
130.125 cents. December finished at 131.900 cents, down
0.125 cent and below the 20-day moving average of 132.10 cents.
The number of cattle available for sale is down slightly
from last week, which is supportive to cash prices. But some
packers reduced slaughter to boost wholesale beef prices and
help pull their margins out of the red.
A few feedlots in the U.S. Plains have priced their cattle
at $131 per cwt with no response from buyers, feedlot sources
said.
Possible sales of $131 this week would surpass the previous
record high of $130 for the week ended March 2, 2012. Last week,
cattle moved at mostly $129 to $130.
"I believe that packers will be very reluctant to pay over
$130 as they are losing money and the market (cash) has never
been able to hold over $130 in the past," Oak Investment Group
President Joe Ocrant said.
Monday morning's average wholesale choice beef price, or
cutout, was at $197.98 per cwt, up $1.69 from Friday. Select
cuts rose $1.04 to $181.02.
Estimated margins for U.S. beef packers on Monday were a
negative $55.35 per head, compared with a negative $44.30 on
Friday and a negative $37.40 a week ago, according to
HedgersEdge.com.
USDA delayed its monthly cattle-on-feed report, which was
originally scheduled for Oct. 18, to Oct. 31. The government
will also postpone its cold storage report from Oct. 22 also to
Oct. 31. [ID: nL1N0I72CS]
CME feeder cattle finished down slightly on firm corn prices
and weak deferred-month CME live cattle futures.
October closed at 165.825 cents per lb, 0.250 cent
lower, while November slipped 0.450 cent to 166.400
cents.
LIVESTOCK-U.S. hog futures ease with cash prices
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