(Prices shown reflect settlements at 1:03 p.m. CT)
By Theopolis Waters
CHICAGO, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile Exchange live
cattle futures fell on Monday, partly led by the World Trade
Organization's (WTO) ruling against the United States in a
meat-labeling dispute, said traders.
Canada and Mexico may impose tariffs worth $1 billion onto
U.S.-traded products, a WTO panel ruled on Monday, as the
countries prepared to retaliate over the United States'
meat-labeling rules.
Spot December 1LCZ5 closed 2.650 cents lower at 121.625
cents per lb, and February 1LCG6 down 2.075 cents to 127.150.
Live cattle contracts were further pressured by tepid
wholesale beef demand, last week's soft cash cattle prices and
futures' recent technical-related selloff.
Last week, market-ready, or cash, cattle in the U.S. Plains
sold as much as $3 per cwt lower than the prior week at $124 to
$126.
Monday morning's wholesale choice beef price was up 10 cents
per cwt from Friday to $202.70. Select cuts fell 97 cents to
$190.52, based on U.S. Department of Agriculture data.
There are significantly less cattle for sale this week, but
packers may have bought enough animals in advance of the
Christmas and New Years holidays, a trader said.
Live cattle futures liquidation, and the plunge in cash
feeder cattle prices by as much as $12 per cwt, sank CME feeder
cattle contracts. January 1FCF6 ended down 3.000 cents per lb
to 156.450.
UNEVEN HOG FUTURES SETTLEMENT
Fund selling and worries about a potential meat trade
retaliation by Canada and Mexico pulled CME hogs lower, traders
said.
Spot December 1LHZ5 and February 1LHG6 closed 1.575
cents lower at 55.475 cents and 57.525 cents, respectively.
James Burns, President of Chicago-based JBS Trading Co.,
said WTO's ruling regarding Country Of Origin Labeling (COOL)
"definitely" caught the attention of traders.
"You'd have to wait and see if the U.S. government repeals
COOL, which to my understanding it seems nobody wants anyway,"
he added.
Although the morning's run up in pork belly prices lifted
wholesale values, uncertainty about near-term pork demand and
hog prices amid plentiful supplies deterred futures buyers.
Government data showed Monday morning's average cash hog
price in the western Midwest dipped 15 cents per cwt from Friday
to $52.69.
Monday morning's wholesale pork price of $74.04 per cwt
gained 31 cents from Friday, led by the nearly $4 bounce in pork
belly costs, the USDA said.
(Editing by Alan Crosby)