Chicago | Reuters —Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures ended mixed on Friday, amid growing uncertainty over packer interest after the U.S. Memorial Day holiday weekend, traders said.
Feeder cattle futures turned lower, as traders adjusted their positions ahead of the holiday weekend and prior to a monthly U.S. government report, which analysts say is expected to show a decrease in placements of cattle into feedlots during April compared to a year earlier.
Lean hog futures closed mixed, with nearby contract prices staying at lows not seen since February, as the cash market remained weak.
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Prices for feed grains on the Canadian Prairies have “started to rebound a little bit,” said Matt Beusekom, trader with Market Place Commodities in Lethbridge.
Live cattle futures traded higher for much of the day, but faded from their session gains on trade concerns that heavy weights on feedlot cattle could weigh on cash cattle prices after the holiday, said independent trader Dan Norcini.
Strength in the cash cattle market has helped boost cattle futures earlier in the week, as cash prices have sat higher than futures. Cash cattle traded on Thursday at $192 per hundredweight (cwt) in Nebraska, and at $187 per cwt in Kansas, two traders said.
Meanwhile, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said Friday that bird flu virus particles were found in tissue samples taken from one dairy cow sent to slaughter at a U.S. meat processing plant. Meat from that animal, and others also tested, were prevented from entering the nation’s food supply, USDA said.
Most-active CME August live cattle LCQ24 closed 0.050 cent higher at 181.125 cents per pound. August feeder cattle FCQ24 settled down 1.225 cents to settle at 261.225 cents per pound.
Most-active CME July hog futures LHN24 ended down 0.250 cent at 94.225 cents per pound.
