Hog Futures Touch New Highs; Cattle Rise on Cash Strength

Hog futures jumped to new highs Wednesday as pork prices recovered from a post-Memorial Day slump.

Wholesale pork rose 0.84 cents to 90.37 cents a pound on Wednesday morning, while higher prices for hogs in Tuesday's cash trade helped push futures higher.

Lean hog contracts for June delivery rose 1.8% to 81.925 cents a pound at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, touching a high for the year before retreating. The more actively traded July contract leaped 2.5% to 83.025 cents a pound.

Cattle futures also rose as cash prices were steady in an online auction Wednesday morning. Beefpackers bought around 1,200 cattle at the Fed Cattle Exchange auction at an average of $1.32 pound for near-term delivery and $1.28 a pound for later delivery. That compares with $1.33 for near-term delivery last week.

Analysts say the resilience in cash prices, which tend to dip lower at this time of year, has prevented a correction in the futures market and helped feedyards.

"That's been a big win for the cattle feeding industry for sure," said Trey Warnock of Amarillo Brokerage in Texas.

CME June live cattle futures rose 1.2% to $1.24425 a pound. August feeder cattle contracts gained 1.8% to $1.52575 a pound.

Write to Benjamin Parkin at benjamin.parkin@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 31, 2017 15:26 ET (19:26 GMT)