Chicago Mercantile Exchange live and feeder cattle futures touched fresh multi-month highs on Tuesday on higher midday beef prices and solid packer margins, but ended the day lower as technical selling later dragged down prices, reported Reuters.
Cattle futures remain supported by tight supplies and good demand for beef. But limited cash market sales at Plains feedlots so far this week gave traders little incentive to carry prices much beyond last week's highs.
CME December live cattle peaked at 227.600 cents per pound, 0.050 cent above Friday's high and the loftiest level since August 11. But the benchmark contract struggled to break through overhead technical resistance and ultimately settled 0.225 cent lower at 226.375 cents per pound.
November feeders reached the highest level in three months, but hit chart resistance at their 200-day moving average and closed down 0.075 cent at 341.025 cents per pound.
Wholesale beef values edged higher in a midday report from the US Department of Agriculture. Choice cuts, however, were lower in USDA's afternoon report at $375.15 per hundredweight, down 41 cents. Select cuts fell 46 cents to $353.67 per cwt.
Estimated beef packer margins widened on Tuesday to $89.75 per head, up from $68.95 on Monday but below an estimated margin of $108.85 per head a week ago, according to livestock marketing advisory service HedgersEdge.
Meanwhile, CME lean hog futures ceded all of the prior day's gains and closed lower for the fifth time in six sessions, pressured by sluggish demand and weak pork prices.
The pork carcass cutout value dropped $2.29 on Tuesday to $80.68 per cwt, just above a nearly 3-1/2 year low posted late last week, according to USDA data.
December lean hogs ended 0.350 cent lower at 68.025 cents per pound.