U.S. cattle futures fell to a one-month low in CME pit trading on Wednesday following lower cash beef and cattle markets and ongoing worries the heat wave will curb the nation's appetite for hot meat-based meals.
Hog futures finished at their lowest in more than a week as hot weather also could slow pork sales.
Temperatures of 100 degrees Fahrenheit and stifling humidity in the Midwest has already killed thousands of cattle in the Dakotas and Nebraska. In Kansas and Texas, the heat is slowing weight gains in cattle, but low humidity there has not resulted in severe death losses, feedlot sources said.
From an investor's perspective the heat slows meat sales as consumers favor salads or fruit-based meals.
"It is still hot as hell so no one wants to cook," said Peter Adams, principal with Chicago-based PNM Trading.
The heat wave and slowing beef consumption will have the cattle market continuing lower for a while, he said.
Wholesale beef prices were lower on Wednesday with choice beef down $1.20 at $179.70 per cwt, its lowest in a week.
Cash cattle traded $2 to $3 lower at $108 per cwt on Wednesday as feedlots were quick to sell before the hot weather sickened the animals. Also, cattle do not gain weight in the heat, so feedlots sell rather than feed them corn that cost more than $6 per bushel.
Beef exports have remained strong during the heat wave, but the United States exports only 10 percent of its beef, so a slow down in domestic use can offset support from exports.
Cattle futures trading may slow in the next day or two as investors await the monthly USDA feedlot cattle report and a semi-annual inventory report, both to be released on Friday.
The feedlot report is forecast to show 2.7 percent more U.S. feedlot cattle on July 1 than a year ago and a 6.5 percent decline in monthly placements, according to a Reuters Poll of analysts.
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