CME cattle futures rise on support from fewer cattle placements

CHICAGO, Oct 25 (Reuters) – Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures rose on Monday, as the market continued to be bolstered by a government report showing fewer cattle placements than expected, traders said.

The USDA’s monthly cattle on feed report, released after the market close on Friday, showed September cattle placements at 97 percent year-over-year, beneath trade estimates of 101.4 percent.

Traders said the cattle market overall saw some technical trading on the day, while many investors expect cattle cash prices this week may finally firm.

CME December live cattle futures settled up 1.200 cents at 129.525 per pound. In feeder cattle, the most-active January contract rose 1.25 cents to settle at 158.575 cents per pound.

Wholesale beef prices have been in a steady decline since late August, pressuring cattle futures, but beef values have stabilized since mid-October, when choice cuts dipped to $280.02 per hundredweight (cwt).

Meanwhile, strength in the cattle market helped boost hog futures on Monday, as the pace of pork processing shows signs of slowing.

“For hogs, the cash market keeps coming under pressure and futures are still carrying a big premium,” said Don Roose, president of U.S. Commodities in West Des Moines, Iowa.

And supplies of some pork cuts – particularly bacon – are getting tight, too. Stocks of pork bellies in refrigerated warehouses were down 26 percent as of Sept. 30, compared to the previous month, and down 48 percent from the same period last year, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.

“When you’re burning through 4.5 million pounds a month, and you have just 13 million pounds in cold storage, you’re getting to the point where you start getting concerned about shortages,” said Karl Setzer, commodity risk analyst at Agrivisor.

CME lean hog futures closed higher on Monday with the benchmark December contract settling up 0.875 cent at 74.200 cents per pound. February lean hogs closed the day up 0.150 cent at 76.775 cents per pound.