CME update: live cattle futures hit five-week low on technical selling and weak beef prices
Technical selling on 1 March drove CME live cattle futures to their lowest prices in more than five weeks.
2 March 2021
1 minute read
Reuters reports that the cattle market's losses brought the most-active April contract down 6% from a life-of-contract high reached on 16 February.
Strong domestic and export demand for US beef had been supporting cattle futures, though boxed beef prices declined on Monday 1 March. Choice cuts of beef dropped by $1.50 to $239.03 per cwt, while select cuts declined by $2.09 to $227.64 per cwt, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
Some traders also said cattle futures look too high compared to cash prices.
CME April live cattle futures slid 1.025 cents to close at 118.975 cents per pound and hit their lowest price since 21 January.
CME April feeder cattle touched a one-month low before ending down 1.450 cents at 141.125 cents per pound.
Meat processors slaughtered an estimated 120,000 cattle on Monday, up from 119,000 a week ago, according to the USDA.
Read more about this story here.
Source: Reuters
