Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures ended mixed on Thursday after investors settled their accounts during the last trading session of the year. The thinly-traded spot December, which expired at noon CST (1800 GMT), settled 2.800 cents per lb higher at 135.800. February, the new lead month, closed up 0.100 cent per lb at 136.800 cents, and April ended down 0.075 cent at 137.975.
The week's cash and wholesale beef price surge at times encouraged futures buyers. But uncertainty over whether further advances are warranted in the coming year weighed on contracts. Beef demand tends to struggle through the end of January as consumers pay off year-end holiday debt, said EBOTTrading.com senior analyst John Kleist, adding that shoppers will continue to eye less-costly plentiful pork and poultry into early spring.
This week, market-ready, or cash, cattle in the US Plains moved at $133 to $135 per cwt, $11 to $13 above last week, feedlot sources said. They said recent wintry weather disruptions, and packers buying for the first full week of production after the winter holidays, drove up beef and cattle prices.
Thursday morning's wholesale choice beef price rose $2.05 per cwt from Wednesday to $210.83. Select cuts gained $1.62 to $203.13, based on US Department of Agriculture data. Buy stops and follow-through buying pushed CME feeder cattle contracts higher. January closed 0.950 cent per lb higher at 166.900.