CHICAGO, Ill. (Reuters) — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures closed firm on Friday, partly on positioning ahead of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly cattle-on-feed report.
Analysts expect the data at 2 p.m. CDT to show decreased cattle placements in February compared with a year ago.
April closed 0.350 cent per pound higher at 158.350 cents, and June up 0.250 cent to 150.475 cents.
Investors await this week’s prices for market-ready or cash cattle.
Cash bids in Kansas and Texas were at $159 to $160 per hundredweight against up to $164 asking prices from sellers, industry sources said. Last week, cash cattle in the U.S. Plains sold at $161 to $162.50.
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A few packers are short bought on supplies, but others cut kills to avoid raising bids for cattle while trying to improve their margins and drive up wholesale beef values, traders said.
Packers processed 83,000 head of cattle Friday, 13,000 fewer than a week ago, USDA said.
Retailers are resisting high-priced beef given plentiful competitively-priced pork, an analyst said.
Friday morning’s choice wholesale beef price dropped $2.23 per cwt. from Thursday to $244.38. Select cuts slipped 23 cents to $244.56, the USDA said.
USDA will issue the monthly cold storage report on Monday, which will include total February beef and pork inventories.
A few analysts, on average, estimated last month’s total beef stocks at 495.2 million lb., and pork stocks at 637 million lb.
CME feeder cattle drew support from buy stops, technical buying and late-day live cattle futures gains.
March closed 0.825 cents per lb. higher at 214.875 cents, and April up 0.175 cents at 216.200 cents.
CME lean hogs closed mostly weak as traders sold deferred contracts and simultaneously bought April because of its discount to the exchange’s hog index for March at $63.56.
April closed 0.325 cents per lb. higher at 58.450 cents, May down 0.400 cents to 68.275 cents and June ended 0.675 cents lower at 73.850 cents.
Anticipation of retail pork buying for spring grilling, and talk that hog numbers might tighten after farmers rushed livestock to market to avoid lower prices, provided added support to April futures.
On Friday, cash hogs in the Midwest sold mostly steady with Thursday’s prices, regional hog dealers said. The morning’s wholesale pork price slumped $1.22 per cwt. to $67.52 from Thursday, USDA said.
