U.S. livestock: Hog futures fall
Cattle futures mixed
| 1 min read
By Reuters
CME October 2022 lean hogs (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and black lines). (Barchart)
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures fell on Wednesday, turning lower on a round of profit-taking after the most-active December contract hit its highest in more than three weeks early in the trading session.
Cattle futures were mixed, with live cattle contracts easing for the second day in a row while feeder cattle futures bounced from the five-week low hit on Tuesday.
CME October lean hogs closed 1.05 cents lower at 94.7 cents/lb., while December hogs shed 0.4 cent to end at 85.3 cents/lb. (all figures US$).
China will release 15,000 tonnes of frozen pork from state reserves on Sept. 17 as it looks to keep prices stable ahead of upcoming holidays, according to a notice issued on Wednesday by the reserves management centre.
October live cattle dropped 0.45 cent, to 144.35 cents/lb., and December dropped 0.4 cent to close at 150.05 cents/lb.
October feeders rose one cent to close at 181.525 cents/lb.
Meat processors slaughtered about 484,000 hogs on Wednesday, the most since Nov. 17. A year ago, hog slaughter was reported at 472,000, according to daily U.S. government data.
Cattle slaughter was reported at 126,000 head, up from 119,000 in the comparable period in 2021.
— Reporting for Reuters by Mark Weinraub in Chicago.
