Live cattle futures firm - CME
Lean hogs climb on tight supply
16 February 2022
2 minute read
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) lean hog futures climbed on Tuesday, supported by persistent tight supplies of market-ready hogs, analysts said.
"We know numbers are getting tighter. We haven't generated the expansion we needed to over the last 6-9 months," said Matthew Wiegand, Risk Management Consultant at FuturesOne. "The numbers are going to stay tighter than usual going into summer and the big demand season."
April lean hog futures added 1.825 cents to 104.15 cents per pound, reported Reuters.
Cash prices climbed, with the CME's Lean Hog Index, a two-day weighted average of cash hog prices, adding $1.59 to $90.51 per cwt, its highest since 11 October, 2021.
Higher cash failed to deter processors, with hog slaughter firming to 478,000 head, up 6,000 from the same day a week ago and up 16.87% from the same day a year ago, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said.
Live and feeder cattle also firmed on tighter supplies, though Wiegand said a lack of new supportive fundamentals could push live cattle sideways in the near term.
April live cattle firmed 0.550 cents to 146.900 cents per pound. March feeder cattle added 1.850 cents to 168.725 cents per pound, boosted by lower Chicago Board of Trade corn futures.
"We are still a bit overbought, and that opens the door for some back and forth correction," said Wiegand.
Cattle slaughter continued to firm, with an estimated 123,000 head processed, up 1,000 from a week ago and 33.7% higher than a year ago, the USDA said.
Choice cuts of boxed beef continued lower, losing $2.63 to $271.33 per cwt, while select cuts added $1.14 to $269.89 per cwt, the USDA said.
Source: Reuters
