By Theopolis Waters
CHICAGO, March 10 (Reuters) – Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle contracts closed mixed on Tuesday, with nearby futures helped by their discounts to recent cash prices, while back months bowed in part to outside market pressure.
April closed 0.750 cent per pound higher at 154.750 cents, and June up 0.100 cent at 146.250 cents. August finished 0.500 cent lower at 144.075 cents, and October down 0.775 cent to 146.750 cents.
The surging dollar and slumping stock market, which could hurt U.S. economic growth, discouraged some investors from buying distant trading months, traders and analysts said.
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U.S. soybean futures fell to a 1-1/2 week low on Tuesday as China continued to shun purchases from the United States and as forecasts for improved rains in the coming days reinforced expectations for a sizeable Midwest harvest.
Funds that follow the Standard & Poor’s Goldman Sachs Commodity Index at times sold, or rolled, their April long positions into back months. Tuesday was the third of five days for the roll procedure.
“Despite the Goldman roll, I think the safest bet for people that want to be friendly (bullish) now is to be forward spread,” said Cassandra Fish, author of the Beef blog.
Processors have not responded to U.S. Plains feedlots that priced cattle at $163 to $164 per hundredweight (cwt). Last week, cash cattle generally moved at $161 to $162.
Short-covering, and the exchange’s feeder cattle index bump to 212.000 cents for March 9 from 210.25 cents for March 6, boosted CME feeder cattle futures.
March closed 2.525 cents per lb. higher at 212.225 cents.
HOG FUTURES DROP
CME lean hogs sagged after packers cut cash bids to grow their margins, traders said.
April closed down 0.100 cent per lb. to 65.975 cents, and May 0.775 cent lower at 75.800 cents.
U.S. Agriculture Department data showed the average cash hog price in the western Midwest on Tuesday morning fell $1.22 per cwt from Monday in light volume to $62.01.
Pork packer margins were at a positive $5.35 per head, compared with a positive $3.60 on Monday, as calculated by HedgersEdge.com.
Packers are also unwilling to spend more for hogs until the pork cutout shows a steady uptrend, traders said.
The morning’s wholesale pork price was up 33 cents per cwt to $69.03 from Monday, USDA said.
