Chicago | Reuters — Most Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle contracts gained modestly on Friday after some investors sold February futures and bought deferred months prior to similar moves next week, said traders. Monday begins the first of five days in which funds that track the Standard + Poor’s Goldman Sachs Commodity Index sell, or […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle futures mostly firmer
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle turn lower
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Thursday gave back some of Wednesday’s gains, pressured by profit-taking and technical selling, said traders. They said early-session futures buying subsided after investors digested this week’s cash prices. February live cattle closed 0.6 cent/lb. lower at 115.075 cents (all figures US$). April ended down […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Fund buying rallies live cattle, lean hogs
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Wednesday reversed the prior day’s losses, with strength from technical buying and short-covering, said traders. February live cattle closed 0.8 cent/lb. higher at 115.675 cents (all figures US$). April ended up 0.775 cent at 114.725 cents and above the 10-day moving average of 114.547 […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs retreat from four-month high
Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hogs settled lower on Tuesday after profit-taking and fund liquidation dropped futures from an early-session four-month high, said traders. February hogs ended 2.65 cents/lb. lower at 63.5 cents (all figures US$). April closed down 1.175 cents, to 66.9 cents. Both contracts finished below their respective 10-day moving […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder market starts new year on firm tone
February live cattle futures reached six-month highs during the last week of 2016, which quickly spilled over into western Canadian feeder cattle markets. While most auction barns were closed for the holiday season, there was some direct off-farm-to-feedlot movement. Limited sales were reported, but values were $2-$6 higher compared to the third week of December. […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle, hog futures mixed on end-of-year positioning
Chicago/Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures were narrowly mixed on Friday, paring earlier steep gains on end-of-year positioning, traders said. Stronger bids for cattle in U.S. Plains cash markets underpinned prices. But some investors took profits after most-active February futures hit an eight-month high before turning slightly lower. Despite the recent rally, cattle […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle score four-month high
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Wednesday hit their highest level in four months, partly driven by short-covering and cash price optimism for this week, said traders. December live cattle closed up 1.175 cents/lb. to 113.275 cents (all figures US$). Most actively-traded February ended up 0.725 cent, to 116.225 cents. […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs snap four-session win streak
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hogs on Tuesday settled lower for the first time in five sessions, hit by profit-taking and weaker cash prices before packing plants close over the Christmas holiday, traders said. February hogs ended 2.1 cents/lb. lower at 64 cents, and April 1.2 cents lower at 67.475 cents (all […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder cattle resume upward trend
Western Canadian feeder cattle prices resumed the upward trend after a brief dip during the first major snowstorm of the year. Feeder cattle weighing above 750 lbs. traded $2-$4 above week-ago levels while calves were readily selling for $4 to as much as $8 higher. Optimism abounds in the feedlot sector, as Alberta fed cattle […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle mostly firmer
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures settled mostly higher on Monday after investors sold the December contract and simultaneously bought deferred months in a market strategy known as bear-spreading, said traders. The spreads, along with modest positioning before Friday’s U.S. Department of Agriculture monthly Cattle on Feed report, lifted some back-months […] Read more
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