Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle and feeder cattle futures weakened on Monday amid spillover pressure from weakness in equity markets, analysts said.
U.S. stocks closed lower, adding to sharp losses last week, on nagging concerns about the Federal Reserve’s determination to hike interest rates to fight inflation even as the economy slows.
The risk for a recession hangs over the cattle markets amid concerns that an economic slowdown would reduce demand for beef, analysts said.
Rising prices for grain used for livestock feed put additional pressure on cattle, brokers said. Corn futures hit a two-month high at the Chicago Board of Trade.
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As the harvest in southern Alberta presses on, a broker said that is one of the factors pulling feed prices lower in the region. Darcy Haley, vice-president of Ag Value Brokers in Lethbridge, added that lower cattle numbers in feedlots, plentiful amounts of grass for cattle to graze and a lacklustre export market also weighed on feed prices.
“Corn strength and macro market weakness are both still in play,” broker StoneX said.
CME October live cattle futures settled 0.15 cent lower at 142.9 cents/lb. (all figures US$). October feeder cattle slid 2.325 cents to close at 181.075 cents.
In the pork market, most-active October lean hogs rose 1.6 cents, to 92.25 cents/lb., while December hogs advanced 1.65 cents, to 84.6 cents/lb.
In other news, China has suspended imports from a Tyson Foods processing plant af Logansport, Indiana, about 110 km north of Indianapolis, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.
— Tom Polansek reports on agriculture and ag commodities for Reuters from Chicago.
