CHICAGO, Nov 20 (Reuters) – U.S. cattle futures fell further at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on Thursday under pressure from fund selling and lower cash prices, traders said.
Futures have dropped over the past month after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was working to lower beef prices for consumers, triggering steep selloffs in cattle that drove some traders out of the markets.
Beef prices set records this year after a years-long drought dried up pasture lands and forced ranchers to slash the country’s cattle herd to its smallest size in decades. Demand for steaks and hamburgers has remained strong.
“The fundamentals are not weak for cattle, but the fund selling is relentless,” said Brian Hoops, president of Midwest Market Solutions. “They are still likely net long and are using any small rallies as selling opportunities to get out of long positions.”
CME February live cattle futures closed down 1.85 cents at 215.400 cents per pound. January feeder cattle futures slumped 5.075 cents to end at 316.375 cents per pound.
In the cash market, dressed cattle traded at $345 per hundredweight in northern areas on Wednesday, down $5-$6 from a week ago, brokers said. In the south, live cattle traded at $224 per hundredweight, down $3-$4 from last week, they said.
Traders were waiting for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to issue a Cattle on Feed report on Friday, after the agency did not release the monthly report in October due to the federal government’s shutdown. Analysts estimated the inventory of cattle on feed in U.S. feedlots on November 1 was down 2.2% from a year earlier.
“Tomorrow’s COF report should be bullish for the industry, but until the technicals improve, fundamentals don’t mean a lot,” Hoops said.
“Packers are also increasing kills, which should mean they need more cattle and would pay more for the cash inventory, but with the futures in a free fall, that isn’t happening either.”
Meatpackers slaughtered an estimated 120,000 cattle and 494,000 hogs on Thursday, steady from a week ago, according to the USDA.
CME February lean hog futures finished up 0.625 cent at 79.650 cents per pound. (Reporting by Tom Polansek; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
