Chicago | Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures finished higher on Friday and gained about 1 percent for the week, helped by solid export demand, traders said.
Demand from China has been particularly strong, fueled by the appetites of a growing Chinese middle class and diplomatic tensions with rival supplier Australia.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported beef exports in September jumped 21 percent from a year ago to 123,633 metric tons, while the value of the shipments climbed by 59 percent to $954 million. Exports to China soared by 286 percent compared with a year earlier.
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The newly released export data was higher than expected, Steiner Consulting Group said in a note.
“Export demand in September was excellent,” Steiner said.
December live cattle futures ended up 1.175 cents at 131.800 cents per pound. The most actively traded January feeder cattle contract rose 1.425 cents to settle at 159.600 cents per pound.
In CME lean hog futures, the benchmark December contract settled 1.325 cents weaker at 76.550 cents per pound.
Technical selling weighed on the market, traders said, after the contract rose on Tuesday to 78.225 cents, its highest since Oct. 20.
The wholesale U.S. pork carcass cutout price eased $1.36 to $96.33 per cwt, according to USDA data. Ham prices rose $3.47 to $75.73, after a jump this week.
