Live cattle futures fall – CME

Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) lean hog futures rallied in tandem with other commodities markets on Tuesday as signs of tightening supplies and a favorable pork demand outlook supported prices, Reuters reported, citing traders.

Actively traded June futures rose for a third straight session to within a penny of a contract high posted two weeks ago.

The gains came as broader commodities markets, from wheat to crude oil, rallied and as the US dollar softened.

Hog prices have also tapped support from some better-than-expected economic data from top pork consumer China, where pork output has slowed, and from US hog herd data showing a smaller breeding inventory.

“Hogs are participating in the overall commodity buying. And the idea is taking hold that there is an improving demand picture on the horizon thanks to some of the recent Chinese economic data,” said Mike Zuzolo, president of Global Commodity Analytics.

CME June lean hogs settled up 2.450 cents at 107.950 cents per pound. The benchmark contract came within 0.9 cent of its lifetime high, having added nearly 5% over the past three sessions.

CME live cattle futures fell on Tuesday on slow cash market trade and technical selling.

Actively traded June live cattle fell to a session low of 175.125 cents per pound and filled in a technical chart gap that was left after Monday’s surge in prices. But the contract ultimately finished well above the day’s lows at 177.150 cents per pound, down just 0.900 cent from the prior day.

Feeder cattle were higher, supported by firm cash market prices. Actively traded August feeders settled up 0.925 cent at 259.400 cents.