Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) cattle futures fell on Friday, even as weakness in the US grains markets failed to give much support to the livestock complex and cash trades this week have been steady to lower, Reuters reported, citing market analysts .
Live cattle were trading at $220 per hundredweight (cwt) in the northern cash markets this week, which was about $2 less per cwt from a week earlier, said Don Roose, president of Iowa-based US Commodities.
But live cattle were trading at $225 per cwt in southern cash markets, which is convincing some operators to haul their animals down to Oklahoma and Texas to sell at a premium, Roose said.
"For futures, the trade is just trying to find some seasonal support in the cattle markets," Roose said. "Traders were hoping for more of a boost from the corn market coming under pressure today."
Chicago Board of Trade corn futures dipped lower on Friday, holding near a six-week low, as Wednesday's larger-than-expected US Department of Agriculture estimate of US corn stocks continued to weigh on the market.
Slaughtering operations continued to recover following recent disruptions linked to an immigration crackdown that affected workers at meatpacking plants, analysts said. Meatpackers slaughtered an estimated 100,000 cattle on Friday, up from 87,000 head a week earlier, according to USDA data.
Meatpackers made profits of $69.35 per head of cattle on Friday, down sharply from $126.45 per head on Thursday and down from $70.45 a week ago.
Meanwhile, CME December lean hog futures closed up 1.200 cents at 70.125 cents per pound.
CME November feeders settled 5.200 cents lower at 331.150 cents per pound, while December live cattle finished down 1.700 cents at 221.475 cents per pound.
Wholesale prices were mixed on Friday morning: Choice cuts of boxed beef fell $2.43 to $374.36 per cwt, while select cuts rose $0.47 to $353.36 per cwt, according to the USDA.
The agency separately quoted the wholesale pork carcass cutout at $86.10 per cwt, up 81 cents from Thursday. Pork bellies rose $1.30 to $94.73 per cwt.
Click here to see more...