Chicago | Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures ended mixed on Wednesday as tight supplies and higher choice beef values supported the market before profit taking and technical selling clipped gains, analysts said.
Live and feeder cattle futures both notched contract highs in the previous session following nearly two straight weeks of daily advances. Those gains, however, took futures into overbought territory.
Meanwhile, news that U.S. President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva would speak Thursday about U.S. tariffs on Brazilian goods also dampened buying interest on Wednesday.
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“Brazil supplies us with 2.6 per cent of our beef consumption. So I think that’s maybe a small stumbling block for today on the cattle side,” said Rich Nelson, chief strategist with Allendale Inc.
CME December live cattle LCZ25 rose 0.275 cents to end at 246.775 cents per pound. November feeder cattle FCX25 settled 0.650 cents lower at 380.675 cents per pound.
Wholesale beef prices have pulled back from historic highs last month, but prices for choice and select cuts remained at elevated levels.
The choice boxed beef cutout rose $2.06 on Wednesday afternoon to $366.48 per hundredweight, a two-week high, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.
The select cutout was at $349.16 per cwt, down $1.39 from the prior day’s two-week peak.
Beef packer margins remained deeply in the red, with estimated losses of $197.95 per head on Wednesday, compared with losses of $175.50 per head a week ago, according to livestock marketing advisory service HedgersEdge.
CME lean hog futures closed higher on Wednesday in a short-covering and technical rebound after recent losses.
December hogs LHZ25 ended 0.450 cents higher at 83.600 cents per pound, rising for just the third time in the past 13 sessions.
