CME feeder cattle futures rise on expectations of low supply

CHICAGO, March 18 (Reuters) – Chicago Mercantile Exchange feeder cattle futures firmed Tuesday on expectations that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s upcoming monthly cattle on feed report would show decreased placements compared to this time last year, according to analysts.

CME April feeder cattle settled up 0.35 cent at 284.550 cents per pound, hitting lifetime highs alongside all other contracts.

CME June live cattle ended down 0.075 cent at 201.000 cents per pound.

A USDA report due Friday is expected to show February cattle placements down 14% from last year, according to an average of estimates in a Reuters poll of analysts.

“The fundamentals, at least in terms of cattle supplies, are bullish,” said Altin Kalo, chief economist at Steiner Consulting Group.

But he said that the Tuesday’s dive in the equities market likely capped some of that bullish sentiment.

U.S. stocks fell, pressured by everything from geopolitical tensions to the outlook for Big Tech companies, to deepening fears about the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade wars.

Pork rallied Monday on China’s State Council announcement of the launch of a “special action plan” to boost domestic consumption, which includes measures such as increasing residents’ income and establishing a childcare subsidy scheme.

China is the world’s top pork importer, so such an economic stimulus could boost demand, but fears remain about the impact of U.S. tariff policy with new tariffs set to be imposed in April.

Until that is clear, the market will remain volatile, according to Kalo.

CME’s April lean hog contract settled down 0.475 cent to 87.600 cents per pound.

In wholesale values, USDA choice boxed beef rose $2.16 to $323.32 per hundredweight (cwt), while select rose $1.33 to $309.23 per cwt.

In pork, carcasses fell $2.01 to $95.64 per cwt and bellies lost $10.88 to $131.92 per cwt.

(Reporting by Renee Hickman; Editing by Alan Barona)