CHICAGO, Aug 12 (Reuters) – Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures were mostly higher on Friday, rebounding from earlier losses on technical buying and short-covering following the midday expiration of the August contract, traders and analysts said.
Gains in hog futures came after prices neared last week’s roughly four-month lows, and hogs could still face more selling pressure amid expectations of a seasonal buildup in hog supplies after the U.S. Labor Day holiday in early September.
“There’s nothing bullish going on in hogs as far as I’m concerned,” Archer Financial Services broker Dennis Smith said. “When the August (contract) went off, it brought some buying into the October.
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CME October hogs, the most active contract, settled 1.575 cents higher at 60.000 cents per lb, below Thursday’s session high of 61.450 cents but the highest settlement since Aug. 2. For the week, October hogs rose nearly 3 percent,
snapping a streak of five straight weekly losses in their best weekly performance since June.
The August contract expired 0.050 cent lower at 67.150 cents per lb, with its large premium over October futures reflecting expectations for bigger supplies ahead.
Live and feeder cattle futures each ended roughly flat as investors waited for deals to develop in cash cattle markets.
CME October live cattle eased 0.025 cent to 114.525 cents per lb, capping a weekly decline of roughly 0.9 percent.
CME September feeder cattle were up 0.575 cent at 147.550 cents per lb, notching a weekly gain of 0.2 percent.
Beef packers late on Friday were said to be raising bids for slaughter-weight cattle in the southern U.S. Plains to $119 per cwt, compared to trade last week between $118 and $120.
Earlier talk that packers were lowering their bids weighed on prices while the better cash bids were seen as supportive for futures.
