Jan 15 (Reuters) – Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Wednesday morning hit a fresh high following the record-setting pace of wholesale beef prices, traders said.
Late-Tuesday’s wholesale choice beef price was $221.04 per hundredweight, surging $4.10 from Monday to its fourth consecutive record, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Select cuts jumped $4.59 from Monday to $219.35 per cwt., extending their record streak to eight straight days.
CME live cattle futures’ discount to last week’s record-high cash cattle prices encouraged buyers.
LIVE CATTLE – At 8:43 a.m. CST, February was at 138.250 cents per pound, up 0.600 cent. April was at 138.375 cents, up 0.575 cent.
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U.S. livestock: Cattle futures come down from highs
Cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange were weaker on Monday, coming down from recent highs.
Futures are lagging cash prices because of uncertainty whether packers will pay record prices for cattle for a fourth week in a row, an analyst said.
Some processors have reduced plant hours to improve their margins and drive up wholesale beef values, he said.
Investors are tracking wholesale beef demand for signs of a push back by end users against sharply higher product costs, he said.
Packers have not responded to sellers who are asking from $141 to $142 per cwt. for their animals, feedlot sources said. Last week, cattle in the U.S. Plains moved at up to $140 per cwt, a record high.
FEEDER CATTLE – January was at 169.175 cents per lb., up 0.575 cent. March was at 167.475 cents per lb., 0.650 cent higher.
CME feeder cattle drew support from live cattle market gains and weaker corn prices.
LEAN HOGS – February was at 86.625 cents per lb., up 0.625 cent, while April was at 91.425 cents, 0.750 cent higher.
CME hogs moved higher on fund buying and spillover support from the live cattle market, traders said.
Pork could benefit as consumers avoid expensive beef, which could soon bode well for cash hog and wholesale pork prices, a trader said.
Hog prices in the Midwest on Wednesday held steady as packers pad inventories for the rest of this week’s production, dealers said.
USDA data on Wednesday showed hog weights in Iowa-Minnesota for the week ended last Saturday averaged 282.6 lb. That was down 0.3 lb. from the previous week but 6.1 lb. higher than a year earlier.
