Chicago | Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures stabilized on Friday after U.S. testing of ground beef samples for H5N1 bird flu fuelled wild swings, but markets still closed lower for the week.
Live cattle and feeder cattle futures had rallied on Thursday after the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the samples from retail stores tested negative for the virus. On Wednesday, the markets had tumbled over concerns that a potential positive test would slash consumer demand.
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The USDA has confirmed bird flu in dairy herds in nine states since late March. Old dairy cattle are often processed into ground beef.
“Today clearly showed even the computer algorithms were exhausted after the volatility and headlines the markets have faced this week,” said Ross Baldwin, hedge strategist for AgMarket.Net.
CME June live cattle futures LCM24 finished down 0.125 cent at 176.675 cents per pound on Friday and lost about 1.1 per cent for the week. August feeder cattle FCQ24 dipped 0.475 cent to end at 254.75 cents and were down about 2.2 per cent for the week.
The USDA is still performing two other safety studies on beef related to H5N1 but says meat supplies are safe. On Monday, it began requiring lactating dairy cattle to test negative for the virus before being shipped across state lines.
One person, a Texas dairy farm worker, has been infected with H5N1 in the current outbreak. He was not wearing respiratory or eye protection and had been exposed to cattle that appeared to have the same symptoms as those in a nearby farm with a confirmed outbreak of the virus, according to new details on the case released on Friday.
In CME’s lean hog market, June futures LHM24 slipped 0.975 cent to close at 98.95 cents per pound and reached the lowest price since March 22.
The USDA quoted the wholesale pork carcass cutout at $98.12 per cwt, up $0.24 from Thursday, while belly values sank $4.08 to $116.85 per cwt.
