Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures fell for the fourth straight session on Monday, with the most-active June contract hitting a new low, with traders focused on cash market weakness and light demand for pork.
In CME cattle futures, feeder cattle contracts rebounded from six straight losing sessions on some bargain buying. Feeder cattle had hit their highest in nearly eight years before the losing streak as traders bid up prices due to declining corn costs that made it cheaper to feed animals.
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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.
Most actively traded June lean hog futures settled down 0.475 cent at 83.3 cents/lb. after reaching a contract low of 83.025 cents/lb. during the session (all figures US$).
Technical support was noted around the low end of the contract’s 20-day Bollinger range.
August feeder cattle rose 1.675 cents to close at 223.1 cents/lb. The contract rose above its 40-day moving average during the session.
June live cattle finished 0.5 cent higher at 162.425 cents/lb., closing off its session high after facing resistance near its 30-day moving average.
— Mark Weinraub is a Reuters commodities correspondent in Chicago.
