Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) cattle futures ticked up Friday on steep losses in the US grains market, while lean hogs mostly firmed on short-covering, Reuters reported, citing analysts.
Wholesale US pork prices turned higher earlier in the day, lending support to futures, analysts said.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) priced the pork carcass cutout at $106.22 per hundredweight (cwt), up 27 cents from Thursday. Pork bellies climbed by $4.51, to $145.15 per cwt.
"It looks like we're getting a little bit of a delayed seasonal demand on pork side and that's propping up the cutout here recently," said Austin Schroeder, Commodity Analyst at Brugler Marketing and Management.
CME feeder cattle futures gained strength as Chicago Board of Trade corn futures dropped sharply, reducing animal feed costs on the day, said Austin Schroeder, Commodity Analyst at Brugler Marketing and Management.
At least one cash cattle trade of $190 per hundredweight (cwt) in the southern markets was reported on Friday, with another cash trade of $198 cwt in the north, one market analyst said.
Many analysts and traders had expected the cash market to trade relatively flat this week, as feedlots have been slow to sell off their stock and beef packer margins head further in the red.
As of Friday afternoon, USDA reported that wholesale beef prices had turned higher: Choice boxed beef cutout was at $313.77 per cwt, up $1.31 from a day earlier, while select cuts were up $2.35 at $297.46 per cwt.
CME August live cattle futures ended down 0.325 cents at 188.575 cents per pound, while most-active October live cattle futures fell 0.050 cents at 188.550 cents per pound.
CME August feeders ended 1.075 cents higher at 259.700 cents per pound.
CME August lean hog futures ended 0.300 cent lower at 93.475 cents per pound. October lean hog futures ended up 0.400 cent at 78.200 cents per pound.
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