Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) cattle futures were firm on Monday, as weakness in the US grain markets gave feeder cattle a boost and as traders continued to assess news from the recent government cattle report, Reuters reported, citing market analysts.
After the trading session ended on Friday, the USDA released its monthly cattle-on-feed report, showing all cattle on feed, as of October 1, at 100% of last year's numbers, and below the estimate of a Reuters poll of analysts that put them at 100.3% of the previous year.
The USDA also reported that September cattle placements in feedlots were reported at 88% of last year's numbers, beneath the trade estimate of 92.6% and the lowest for September since 1996.
The report drew buyers to the cattle complex on Monday, even with futures leaning towards overbought, Karl Setzer, co-founder of Consus Ag Consulting, said in an analyst note.
On Monday, CME December live cattle ended the day up 0.075 cent at 231.200 cents per pound. Meanwhile, November feeders finished up 0.425 cent at 348.550 cents per pound.
But cattle futures faced some resistance from the most recent USDA cold storage report, market analysts said. While total red meat supplies for September dipped 1% from August, inventory levels rose 3% compared to last year, the agency reported on Friday. Meanwhile, total frozen pork reserves were down 1% from the previous month, but up 9% from the same period a year ago.
December lean hog futures, which set a fresh contract low during the session, ended down 0.900 cent at 64.675 cents per pound.
Wholesale boxed beef prices firmed on Monday morning to $369.16 per hundredweight (cwt) for choice cuts, up $3.37 from the previous day, while select cuts rose $4.36 to $357.05 per cwt.
Beef packer margins remained in the red on Monday. Packers lost an average of $33.30 per head, compared to a loss of $4.10 per head on Friday and a profit of $41.95 per head a week ago, according to livestock marketing advisory service HedgersEdge.
Late Monday afternoon, Reuters reported that China had suspended beef imports from a plant owned by Brazilian meat processor Marfrig Global Foods located in the city of Promissao, in the state of Sao Paulo.