Lean pork futures close close
Traders jockeyed for positions ahead of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) monthly feed report on Friday, Reuters reported, citing traders. Live cattle futures ended slightly higher on Thursday.
CME June Live Cattle rose 0.050 cent to 175.375 cents a pound, after hitting a two-week high of 176.275 cents, near the contract's 100-day moving average. June contracts are up about 2.3% so far this week, recovering from four weeks of losses.
CME May feed cattle futures fell 2.275 cents to end at 242.550 cents per pound, supported by a decline in corn futures CN24, which indicates lower feed costs.
The fall in wholesale beef prices has affected the cattle market, putting a halt to the rise in prices. The USDA priced select cuts of boxed beef at $295.80 per hundredweight (cwt), down $1.01 from Wednesday and the lowest price since mid-February.
Market players are watching for a seasonal rebound in beef demand from retailers ahead of the Mother's Day and Memorial Day holidays and the start of summer grilling season.
Ahead of the USDA's monthly feed report scheduled for Friday, an average of analysts surveyed by Reuters expects the government to report 1.853 million head of cattle entering U.S. feedlots in March. This was a 7% decrease from the previous year.
CME lean hog futures ended slightly mixed. The most active June contract settled at 102.700 cents, down 0.025 cents per pound, while the July contract rose 0.050 cents to end at 104.350 cents.
The USDA late Thursday priced pork carcass trimmings at $99.96 per cwt, an increase of 41 cents from Wednesday.
The USDA reported that U.S. pork export sales for the week ending April 11 were 21,800 tons, down 47% from the average for the previous four weeks. Weekly beef export sales totaled 17,700 tonnes, an increase of 27% over the previous four-week average.