U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs fall on sluggish export sales
Weaker exports drag on cattle also
| 2 min read
CME December 2021 lean hogs (candlesticks) with 20- and 100-day moving averages (pink and black lines) and CME Lean Hog Index (dark red dotted line, left column). (Barchart)
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures fell for a third session on Thursday, pressured by weak export activity, traders said.
CME December lean hog futures settled down 2.825 cents at 73.2 cents/lb., its biggest drop since Sept. 10 (all figures US$). CME February hogs ended down 2.55 cents at 76.675 cents/lb.
Nearby hog futures lag the CME’s Lean Hog Index, a two-day weighted average of lean hog values, which fell to $85.89, its lowest since March 5.
“I think the board is way too bearish right now. We are way under the index,” said Dennis Smith, commodity broker at Archer Financial.
U.S. exporters sold 20,900 tonnes of pork during the week ended Oct. 7, down 36 per cent from the previous four-week average, a marketing year low, the USDA said.
In the cattle markets, CME live cattle futures fell on weaker exports, though optimism remains for the market.
“The beef is bottoming out, the feedlots are getting more current, the cash market’s taking on a firmer tone. It was a hiccup today, in my opinion,” said Smith.
CME December live cattle futures settled down 0.975 cent at 129.55 cents/lb. January feeder cattle futures eased 0.475 cent to end at 160 cents/lb.
U.S. exporters sold 7,800 tonnes of beef during the week ended Oct. 7, down 51 per cent from the previous four-week average, a marketing year low, USDA said.
Boxed beef prices were mixed, with choice cuts adding 63 cents, to $280.66 per hundredweight, while select cuts fell eight cents, to $262.72.
Traders await monthly U.S. cattle-on-feed and cold storage reports due from USDA on Friday.
Analysts surveyed by Reuters on average expect the government to report the number of U.S. cattle on feed as of Oct. 1 at 99.4 per cent of the year-ago figure. Cattle placements in September were seen at 101.4 per cent of year-ago, while September cattle marketings were seen at 97.5 per cent of year-ago.
— Christopher Walljasper reports on agriculture and ag commodities for Reuters from Chicago.
