CME cattle futures higher on stabilizing stock market
CHICAGO, April 15 (Reuters) – Chicago Mercantile Exchange live and feeder cattle futures ended higher on Tuesday as relatively firm boxed beef prices and recovering equities markets provided support to prices, analysts said.
CME June live cattle futures settled up 0.725 cent to end at 199.8 cents per pound and May feeder cattle futures ended 1.575 cents higher to 282.525 cents per pound.
“It’s a matter of the market finding more stability after a week of a lot of volatility that was tied to outside markets,” Altin Kalo, economist at Steiner Group, said.
Some trade policy relief and strong bank earnings added support to equities markets, while U.S. government bonds and the dollar were steady, after U.S. President Donald Trump touted possible tariff changes on autos.
In the beef market, choice cuts of boxed beef fell 20 cents to $335.43 per hundredweight (cwt) and select cuts fell 61 cents to $315.24 per cwt on Tuesday afternoon, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
A seasonal uptick in demand for meat has also added upward momentum to prices, as retailers may be stocking up ahead of grilling season, an analyst said.
Short covering before the USDA’s Thursday cattle on feed report have also helped fuel a rebound in prices, an analyst note said.
U.S. April 1 cattle on feed are estimated to be down 1.8% from a year ago, a Reuters poll of analysts reported.
CME June lean hog futures settled up 0.05 cent at 95.175 cents per pound. Hog futures have also been increased on steadying equities markets, analysts said.
The USDA priced pork carcasses at $91.73 per cwt, down $1.05 from Monday.
(Reporting by Heather Schlitz; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)
