Hog futures hit four-month high before falling.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) live cattle futures rose and beef hit a two-month high on October 4, 2024, in technical trading, with better-than-expected September jobs data boosting consumer demand, Reuters reported, citing analysts. Hog futures hit a four-month high before falling.
CME December 2024 live cattle futures rose 0.6 cent to 187.000 cents per lb. CME November 2024 beef futures ended the session up 1.150 cents to 249.275 cents per lb, reaching their highest level since August 1, 2024.
“Technically, the market is overbought,” said Cassie Fish, an analyst and author of the Beef blog, adding that funds have been buying in large quantities. Fish said better-than-expected September 2024 employment data supported the cattle market.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 254,000 jobs in September 2024 after increasing by 159,000 in August 2024. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a gain of 140,000 jobs.
With retail beef prices rising, Fish said the encouraging economic news should support cattle prices. Meat processors have cut production, which appears to be stabilizing boxed beef prices, and production cuts could be larger in the next three weeks, she said.
The USDA set the price of premium canned beef on October 4, 2024 at $302.36/cwt, up $2.56 from October 3, 2024. The price of choice beef cuts increased $3.85 to $287.14/cwt.
The price of pork futures for December 2024 on the CME exchange decreased 0.250 cent to end at 76.150 cents/lb after hitting its highest price since May 2024. The price of pork futures for October 2024 ended down 0.150 cent to 84.025 cents/lb.
Thuy Chung
Source: Vinanet/VITIC/thepigsite