CHICAGO – U.S. cattle futures turned lower near midday on Thursday after setting a two-week high as profit-taking and a downturn in the stock market pressured contracts.
Early gains in cattle were in reaction to $1 higher cash sales in the key cattle markets of Texas and Oklahoma.
Hog futures were mixed, with some contracts supported by higher cash markets in Iowa. However, futures remained within a narrow three-week trading range.
In cattle, futures advanced early as news spread that beef plants paid $95 per cwt for cattle in Texas and Oklahoma. Texas is the largest cattle state and producers there on Wednesday had resisted bids of $94. Kansas cattle traded $1 higher at $94 on Wednesday.
"We traded $95 today and that is the driver," said Dennis Smith, livestock broker with Archer Financial. "Everybody, including myself, was looking for a lower (cash) market."
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