Lean hog futures at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) closed lower on Monday as profit-taking and technical selling set in, pulling prices back from recent contract highs, according to Reuters and broker insights. December lean hog futures fell 0.85 cents to settle at 83.225 cents per pound.
The hog market’s retreat follows last week’s price surge driven by strong demand for U.S. pork and a tighter-than-expected hog supply. “Hogs were certainly overbought,” noted Matt Wiegand, a commodity broker with FuturesOne in Nebraska.
In addition, wholesale cutout values saw some softness, with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data showing a slight dip in pork belly and ham values. However, pork carcass cutouts held steady, as loins showed marginal gains.
Canadian Port Disruption Raises Opportunities for U.S. Exports
In Canada, the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association announced an impending worker lockout at the Port of Vancouver, following an unsuccessful negotiation period. A prolonged work stoppage could disrupt meat exports, potentially allowing the U.S. to increase its chilled pork exports to Japan and encouraging Canadian shippers to route more meat into the U.S. market.
Cattle Futures Also Dip Amid Profit-Taking
Similar pressures were seen in CME’s cattle markets. December live cattle futures closed 0.85 cents lower at 185.075 cents per pound, retreating from recent highs. November feeder cattle futures also softened, ending down 0.525 cents to 246.350 cents per pound.
Boxed beef prices showed mixed movement, with the USDA reporting choice boxed beef cutouts rose by $0.57 to $316.91 per hundredweight, while select boxed beef jumped by $2.13 to $287.16 per cwt.
Despite this, profit margins for beef processors contracted sharply, dropping to $1.70 per head of cattle from $8 on Friday and $58.40 a week earlier, based on data from HedgersEdge.com.
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