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Trade War Risk Slams CME Hogs; Cattle Turn Higher
USAgNet - 03/23/2018

Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hogs hit a four-month low on Thursday as U.S. stocks plummeted amid fears of a potential trade war between the United States and China, said traders. On Thursday U.S. President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum that could impose tariffs on up to $60 billion of imports from China.

China is the fifth-largest importer of U.S. pork, industry experts said.

"There's some trade war concerns, but there also has been larger-than-anticipated hog slaughters," said Livestock Marketing Information Center director Jim Robb.

Reuters reports that hog farmers ramped up production driven by affordable feed, robust U.S. pork exports and increased U.S. hog slaughter capacity.

The hog supply buildup pressured prices for slaughter-ready, or cash, hogs and for wholesale pork, said traders.

Thursday afternoon's U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) monthly cold storage report showed total February pork stocks at 614.9 million pounds. That was up 6 percent and 8 percent from the previous month and last year, respectively.

CME live cattle emerged from a five-session slump, helped by higher wholesale beef values and futures' discounts to this week's cash returns, said traders and analysts.

Bargain-hunters bought deferred live cattle contracts that were pressured during recent sessions by expectations for bigger supplies ahead.


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