Plunging wholesale pork values and soft cash markets have weighed down lean hog contracts since July, with China's own hog surplus limiting opportunities for American exporters. CME live cattle futures also touched multi-week lows as cash prices tumbled across the southern United States. Regulatory hurdles persist for beef shipments to China, even as January feeder cattle managed to rebound by the close of the session. Outside the trading pits, agricultural authorities reported new bird flu developments affecting dairy herds in Indiana and an individual in Washington state.
Key points
Abundant hog supplies within China are actively undermining international demand for Unit…: Abundant hog supplies within China are actively undermining international demand for United States pork exports.
Mixed movements in cattle contracts reflect broader industry headwinds, including foreign…: Mixed movements in cattle contracts reflect broader industry headwinds, including foreign trade obstacles and sliding cash prices.
Health officials confirmed Indiana's first dairy bird flu case and a human fatality in Wa…: Health officials confirmed Indiana's first dairy bird flu case and a human fatality in Washington, though general public risk remains low.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
By Tom Polansek
CHICAGO, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures set life-of-contract lows on Monday as plentiful supplies and weak demand continued to weigh on prices.
The market has tumbled since July because of poor cash prices for hogs and slumping wholesale pork prices, analysts said. Futures are oversold due to the losses, though it is not clear when they will begin to recover, they said.
CME December lean hog futures ended down 0.70 cent at 58.175 cents per pound and set a contract low of 57.775 cents. April 2027 futures also set a contract low.
Analysts said domestic and export demand for pork was struggling. China, the world's biggest pork consumer, is grappling with an oversupply of hogs that is hurting US pork exports.
"It's hard for them to import pork from the US or from most suppliers and turn a profit on it, with so much low-priced domestic product in the market," said Joe Schuele, spokesman for the industry group US Meat Export Federation.
US beef also still faces regulatory barriers for export to…
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