By Heather Schlitz
CHICAGO, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile Exchange live and feeder cattle futures inched lower on positioning on Tuesday as thin volumes led to a sideways, choppy trade.
Hog futures rose as traders covered short positions ahead of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s quarterly Hogs and Pigs report, which they had expected to show a 0.9% decline in the hog herd compared to the previous year. The report, which was released after the close of trade, instead showed a bigger hog herd than anticipated.
CME February live cattle (LCG26) settled 1.425 cents lower at 230 cents per pound. March feeder cattle (FCH26) ended 1.5 cents lower at 339 cents per pound.
Choice cuts of beef fell $3.04 to $359.83 per hundredweight, according to USDA data as of Tuesday morning. Select cuts rose $1.18 to $351.87 per cwt.
CME cattle futures were little changed in the absence of fresh news and amid light, pre-holiday trading.
CME benchmark February lean hog futures (LHG26) rose 0.625 cent to 85.975 cents per pound. The hogs and pigs report will be slightly bearish for the hog market, said Altin Kalo, economist at Steiner Consulting
“The supply that’s going to be available for marketing in the spring is a little higher than what the market is expecting,” Kalo said.
Wholesale pork cutout prices were lower. The USDA reported that pork carcasses were down $1.42 to $96.99 per cwt, with ham and belly prices also falling.

HOGS

CME cattle futures fell slightly due to thin volumes and sideways trading, while hog futures rose as traders covered short positions before the USDA's Hogs and Pigs report. The report showed a larger hog herd than expected, slightly bearish for the market. Beef and pork cutout prices also declined.

LIVESTOCK-CME cattle futures lower after sideways trade