Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) live and feeder cattle futures tipped lower on Thursday as falling wholesale boxed beef prices and long liquidation pressured the market, Reuters reported, citing analysts.
A decline in boxed beef prices has made meatpackers, whose margins continue to remain in the red, less willing to pay up for cattle.
"The packers are less likely to make money, so they're not going to be out there looking to buy cattle and that will sap some demand," said Altin Kalo, economist at Steiner Consulting.
Meanwhile, some market players are exiting their long positions ahead of the end of the year and following a sustained rally.
CME February live cattle settled 1.15 cents lower at 228.40 cents per pound. March feeder cattle ended 1.725 cents lower at 334.60 cents per pound.
On Thursday morning, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) priced choice cuts of beef at $357.04 per hundredweight, up 95 cents from Wednesday. Select cuts dropped $2.38 to $344.05 per cwt.
The delayed Consumer Price Index on Thursday showed that consumer prices increased less than expected in the year to November. A jobless claims report showed new applications fell last week, reversing the prior week's surge and suggesting labor market conditions remained stable in December.
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