CHICAGO, Sept 11 (Reuters) – Chicago Mercantile Exchange live and feeder cattle futures ended higher on Friday on support from a strengthening cattle market and a bout of short covering ahead of the weekend in a bounce off of last week’s lows.
CME October live cattle settled 1.85 cents higher to 219.675 cents per pound. CME October feeder cattle rose 4.95 cents to 332.5 cents per pound.
Boxed beef prices have been relatively resilient, though traders are continuing to assess consumer demand for beef, which is typically one of the priciest proteins available at stores and restaurants.
Inflation and high gas prices in particular have led to concerns that consumers will trade down from beef to cheaper proteins to save money.
“With gas prices still elevated, that’s a concern moving forward here,” said Austin Schroeder, analyst at Brugler Marketing.
Choice cuts of boxed beef were down $2.41 to $375.96 per hundredweight (cwt) on Friday, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Select cuts rose $1.60 to $353.67 per hundredweight.
The first horse in the United States to be infected with New World screwworm has been detected in southern Texas near the Mexican border, data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture showed.
The case of the flesh-eating parasite was confirmed on Wednesday in Presidio County, USDA’s website showed, after months of infestation of U.S. cattle that has raised alarms about how to control the spread of the pest.
The re-opening of the U.S.-Mexico border to cattle imports has largely already been factored into the market, traders said. The number of cattle moving through the open port has been relatively small.
In pork, the most actively traded October lean hog contract closed 1.625 cents lower at 81.525 cents per pound.
The USDA reported wholesale pork carcass values at $92.11, up 30 cents from the previous day.
(Reporting by Heather Schlitz; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
