Live cattle and feeder cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) declined for a third consecutive session on Thursday, as expectations of increasing beef supplies continued to trigger selling in what had been a strongly bullish cattle market, reported Reuters.
The decline was largely a technical move driven by the liquidation of long positions, particularly in feeder cattle futures, according to Doug Houghton, an analyst with Brock Associates.
He, however, noted that concerns about a potential resumption of feeder cattle imports from Mexico also added fundamental pressure to the market.
After a long bull market underpinned by low cattle supplies, said Houghton, "The whole market mood seems to have changed."
CME December live cattle futures settled down 1.750 cents at 218.775 cents per pound. January feeder cattle ended down 4.375 cents at 315.600 cents per pound.
Daily limits were expanded to 10.75 cents for live cattle futures and 13.75 cents for feeders for trading session on Thursday, the CME said, after falling to their daily limits in the previous session.
Live and feeder cattle futures reached all-time highs in mid-October, boosted by soaring beef prices as the US cattle herd fell to its smallest size in decades after a lengthy drought.
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