Lean hog futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) declined on Wednesday under pressure from slumping wholesale pork prices, Reuters reported, citing analysts, with the nearby October contract setting a life-of-contract low.
Most-active December hogs settled down 1.275 cents at 69.100 cents per pound. Front-month October hogs hit a contract low at 76.850 cents before closing at 76.925 cents, down 1 cent on the day.
The US Department of Agriculture quoted the pork carcass cutout at $81.71 per hundredweight on Wednesday afternoon, down $2.13 from Tuesday and the lowest reading since December 2023.
"Domestic demand has been soft as the consumer chooses chicken over pork. And the world market is just flooded with chicken," said Don Roose, president of Iowa-based US Commodities.
Cattle futures drifted lower on a light round of profit-taking one day after the most-active December live cattle contract climbed 1.9% and posted a three-week high.
CME December live cattle settled down 0.325 cent on Wednesday at 223.775 cents per pound. November feeder cattle fell 2.475 cents to close at 335.800 cents per pound.
The cattle market shrugged off pressure from a dip in wholesale beef prices. The USDA quoted the choice boxed beef cutout at $375.62 per hundredweight on Wednesday, down $3.31 from a day earlier.
Beef packer margins remained positive. The average margin on Wednesday climbed to $110.25 per head of cattle, up from $108.85 on Tuesday, according to livestock marketing advisory service HedgersEdge.