CHICAGO, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Live cattle futures slipped
at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) on Wednesday as the
market came under pressure from steep losses in equities and a
lack of supportive news, brokers said.
December live cattle settled 1.475 cents lower at
151.575 cents per lb. February live cattle dropped 0.625
cent to 154.150 cents per lb and touched its lowest price since
Oct. 19.
Outside markets set a negative tone for cattle, said Matt
Wiegand, commodity broker for FuturesOnes. Wall Street ended
sharply lower, while oil prices sank.
Weakness in stocks and the risk for a recession raise
concerns that consumers will reduce purchases of pricey steaks.
"You're not seeing a lot of fresh bullish news," Wiegand
said.
Feeder cattle futures were also weaker at the CME, with the
most-active January contract slipping 0.250 cent to end
at 179.650 cents per lb.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in a monthly report,
raised its estimate for 2022 domestic beef production, citing
higher expected cattle slaughtering and heavier carcass weights.
The agency lowered its 2023 production forecast due to tighter
supplies of fed cattle and lower cow slaughtering.
Producers have reduced their herds due to drought in the
western United States.
For pork, the USDA trimmed its 2022 production estimate due
to a slower expected pace of slaughter and kept its 2023
forecast unchanged from October. The government raised its
forecasts for cattle and hog prices for 2022.
On Wednesday, meatpackers slaughtered an estimated 129,000
cattle, which was unchanged from last week and up from 123,000
cattle a year ago, the USDA said separately. Hog slaughtering
rose to an estimated 493,000 head from 488,000 hogs a week ago
and 479,000 a year ago.
In hog futures, CME December lean hogs eased 0.300
cent to close at 85.275 cents per lb.
The USDA quoted the U.S. pork carcass cutout value at $94.12
per hundredweight (cwt), down by $1.02 from Tuesday.
(Reporting by Tom Polansek; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)