Chicago | Reuters — CME Group live cattle futures dropped on a round of profit taking after the front-month contract rose to its highest since June 2015 early in the session.
Concerns about a winter storm damaging herds in the U.S. Plains provided support to cattle futures overnight.
While supply concerns dominated cattle futures trading, the hog futures market was focused on demand and how rising COVID-19 cases from China could affect the export market.
CME February lean hogs dropped 1.175 cents to 83.4 cents/lb. (all figures US$). Nearby December hogs, which expire on Friday, eased 0.075 cent to 82.325 cents/lb.
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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.
CME benchmark February live cattle fell 0.65 cent to 155.7 cents/lb., while the spot December contract dipped 0.4 cent, to 154.5 cents per pound after peaking at 155.25 cents.
The top for the December contract was the highest on a continuous basis for front-month live cattle since June 11, 2015.
CME January feeder cattle lost 0.625 cent, to 183.6 cents/lb.
Boxed beef prices were mixed on Wednesday, with choice cuts falling $4.88, to $250.07 per hundredweight (cwt), while select cuts gained $1.23, to $226.49/cwt, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said.
USDA reported the daily cow slaughter at 118,000 head, down from 127,000 a week ago and the smallest since the day after the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.
— Mark Weinraub is a Reuters commodities correspondent in Chicago.
