Chicago livestock futures marched upward on Wednesday.
Most-traded February live cattle contracts closed at 221.900 cents a pound, up 1.100 cents. April contracts gained 0.975 cents a pound to settle at 223.400 cents per pound.
Most-active January feeder cattle futures settled up 1.975 cents at 331.850 cents a pound. March contracts closed at 325.800 cents a pound, up 1.875 cents.
The USDA valued choice boxed beef at $363.81 per cwt, down $0.91. Select beef gained $2.34 and ended the afternoon at $353.12 per cwt.
Frigid conditions across the American Midwest pushed prices upward on Tuesday on concerns that the weather would stress livestock and slow weight gains.
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Futures were also due for a technical bounce after plunging last week to their lowest levels since May.
“Beef demand is starting to pick up for the holidays. It’s a combination (of the) weather premium plus seasonal demand, giving us a push. And we just went too low for what we have going on,” said Don Roose, president of Iowa-based U.S. Commodities on Tuesday.
Most-active February lean hog futures settled at 81.000 per pound, up 0.825 cents. December contracts gained 0.050 cents to close at 80.550 cents a pound.
Traders were eyeing an African swine fever outbreak among wild boar in Spain. On Tuesday, Spanish authorities said the number of confirmed infected wild boars had climbed to nine. Brokers were still assessing whether the outbreak would boost demand for U.S. pork, Roose said.
The USDA put pork carcass cutout value at $94.02 per cwt in its afternoon report, down $0.20.
—With files from Reuters
