July 14, 2010
US cattle futures rise on signs of growing meatpacker demand
Cattle futures rose to an eight-week high on signs that US beef demand is growing; hog prices slipped for the third straight session.
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Spot-market cattle sold for 93 cents a pound Monday (July 12), up one cent from the prior week and 10 cents from a year earlier, government data show. Meatpackers shipped 43 million pounds of wholesale beef in the week that ended Monday, up 44% from 29 million pounds the week before, USDA data show.
"Our demand has been good, and we kind of turned the corner last week," said Lane Broadbent, a vice president at KIS Futures Inc. in Oklahoma City. "Packers had to buy cattle on our terms, and most people think the cash market is only going to get better."
Cattle futures for October delivery advanced 0.875 cent, or 1%, to 92.275 cents a pound on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the highest price since May 14. Feeder-cattle futures for August settlement rose 0.95 cent, or 0.8%, to US$1.13625 a pound.
Hog futures for October settlement declined 0.15 cent, or 0.2%, to 74.225 cents a pound in Chicago. The price has climbed 26% in the past year after farmers reduced the breeding herd to the smallest on record to cut costs.
