Lean hog futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) closed mostly lower on Monday, with the benchmark April contract falling for a third straight session after setting a life-of-contract high last week, reported Reuters.
CME April hogs settled down 1.225 cents at 96.725 cents per pound. Front-month February hogs closed down 0.275 cent at 87.100 cents but stayed above the CME's Lean Hog Index, a two-day weighted average of cash prices, which was last at 86.57 cents.
Commodity funds hold a sizable net long position in CME hog futures, leaving the market prone to bouts of long liquidation. Friday's weekly commitments report from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed managed funds expanded their net long in CME hog futures to 123,396 contracts in the week ended February 3, up 13,859 lots, or 12.65%, from the prior week.
Wholesale pork values ticked higher. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) priced pork carcasses on Monday afternoon at $95.83 per hundredweight, up $2.06 from Friday.
Cattle futures rose, supported by tight US cattle supplies. CME April live cattle futures settled up 0.950 cent at 238.200 cents per pound, with the June contract up 0.475 cent at 234.325 cents.
CME March feeder cattle futures finished up 0.025 cent at 367.450 cents.
After the market closed, US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the USDA opened a facility in southern Texas to release sterile flies to combat the New World screwworm parasite, which has been found in Mexican livestock. The USDA has halted US imports of Mexican cattle to prevent the pest from entering, worsening a cattle shortage that has pushed beef prices to record highs for consumers.
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