Cattle futures climbed to a 26-month high in Chicago on signs that rising demand is exceeding supply. Hogs also gained.
U.S. exporters sold 19,344 metric tons of beef in the week ended Nov. 11, up 49 percent from a week earlier, government data show. Through September, U.S. beef and veal exports reached 1.654 billion pounds (750 million kilograms), up 17 percent from a year ago, the most-recent USDA data show. Wholesale-choice beef yesterday rose to the highest level in two weeks.
“The demand has been good domestically, and our export demand has been very good,” said Lane Broadbent, a vice president of KIS Futures Inc. in Oklahoma City. “Demand is outstripping supply here.”
Cattle futures for February delivery gained 1.35 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $1.0395 a pound at 10:50 a.m. on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, the price reached $1.0485, the highest since Sept. 17, 2008. Before today, the commodity rose 19 percent this year.
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