Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures rallied on Wednesday while cattle slid.
Most active April lean hogs settled at 88.300 cents a pound, up 1.725 cents. June lean hogs closed at 102.375 cents per pound, up 1.825 cents.
Pork carcass cutout value closed at $96.66 per cwt, up $1.01.
Most active April live cattle settled down 1.100 cents to 194.625 cents a pound. June live cattle closed at 191.275 cents per pound, down 0.975 cents.
Most active April feeder cattle ended at 273.525 cents per pound, down 0.275 cents, while March feeder cattle futures gained 0.150 cents to 274.375 cents per pound.
Choice boxed beef settled at $312.90 per cwt, down $1.42, the USDA said in its afternoon report. Select boxed beef was valued at $303.24 per cwt, down $0.89.
Argentina announced today it had authorized the export of live cattle for slaughter, reversing a prohibition that had been in place for more than 50 years, Reuters reported. Last year, Argentina exported 935,000 tonnes of beef. Nearly 70 per cent of that was shipped to China.
