CME update: cattle futures end lower as slaughter and export numbers disappoint
US live and feeder cattle futures ended lower on 15 April, falling back from major gains last week.
Reuters reports that CME June live cattle ended 0.400 cent lower at 119.650 cents per pound. May feeder cattle futures fell 1 cent to 144.425 cents per pound, hitting their lowest price since 19 May.
Traders said weekly US beef export sales were also disappointing at 15,700 tonnes. That was down 14% from the previous week and 23% from the prior four-week average, according to the USDA.
Beef processor Cargill said a plant in Dodge City, Kansas, slaughtered about 4,600 cattle on Thursday, down about 11.5% from normal. A day earlier, the company said the facility had suffered technical problems with an automated shipping system.
Operations should return to normal on Monday, according to Cargill.
Overall, US meat processors slaughtered 114,000 cattle on Thursday, down from 119,000 cattle a week earlier, and 479,000 hogs, down from 492,000 hogs a week ago, according to USDA.
Read more about this story here.
Source: Reuters