CHICAGO, April 28 (Reuters) – Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures settled sharply lower on Thursday, with the June contract down by the 3-cents per lb daily price limit, as sluggish beef demand threatened to pressure cash prices by Friday, traders said.
Lightly-traded April live cattle, which has no limit on the final two days before expiration on Friday, closed 3.150 cents per lb lower at 122.850 cents.
June ended limit down at 114.800 per lb. And August finished 2.950 cents lower at 111.750 cents per lb. Live cattle’s trading limit will be expanded to 4.5 cents on Tuesday.
Read Also
Entomologist tests trap crops and marigolds to repel flea beetles at an Ag in Motion
An Agriculture Canada entomologist is experimenting with trap crops and marigolds at an Ag in Motion demonstration cropplot
Beef cutout values have fallen six days in a row due to plentiful cattle, less-expensive pork and less-than-ideal spring grilling weather in parts of the country, said traders.
He said declining wholesale beef values trimmed packer profits.
Thursday morning’s wholesale choice beef price sagged $1.60 per cwt from Wednesday to $213.21. Select cuts were $1.29 lower at $204.30, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.
Packers tabled $123 to $124 per cwt bids for market-ready, or cash cattle in the U.S. Plains with sellers asking $130, said feedlot sources. Last week, cash cattle moved at $125 to $128.
Thursday’s average beef packer margin was estimated at a positive $43.50 per head, down from a positive $65.30 on Wednesday, as calculated by HedgersEdge.com.
Heavy CME live cattle losses pressed most of the exchange’s feeder cattle contracts down by their 4.5-cents per lb price limit.
April feeder cattle , which expired at noon CDT (1700 GMT), closed 0.775 cent per lb lower at 145.525 cents.
May, the new spot month, and August ended limit down at 140.575 and 139.800 cents, respectively. The limit will be expanded to 6.750 cents on Friday.
Technical buying and upward-trending cash prices lifted CME lean hogs for a second straight session, traders said.
Thinly traded May ended 0.775 cent per lb higher at 77.325 cents, and most-active June closed 1.300 cents higher at 80.775 cents.
Government data on Thursday showed the morning average cash hog price in Iowa/Minnesota up 28 cents per cwt from Wednesday to $68.22.
Thursday morning’s wholesale pork price at $81.61 cents was down 41 cents from Wednesday, snapping a three-day win streak, according to USDA data.
Packers will avoid paying more for hogs if they are unable to sell pork to grocers and current prices, a trader said.
