By Benjamin Parkin 
 

Cattle futures rose to the highest point this month Monday after last week's physical prices were stronger than expected.

Live cattle contracts for August delivery rose 2.3% to $1.06925 a pound at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, closing at the highest point since June 29.

Meatpackers last week paid higher prices for cattle to slaughter than many had expected, with cattle mostly trading for around $1.11 a pound. That was down from a week earlier, when prices surged, but still at the high end of bids. Trading volumes were light, however.

The discount in the futures market helped encourage some buying on Monday. Analysts also pointed to fund interest in the market. Regulatory data from Friday showed money managers increasing bets that prices would rise.

"Funds are adding to their length in the cattle complex, betting on higher prices," said Jeff French at Top Third Ag Marketing. "It would not surprise me to see the futures move higher on the opening and possibly even make new highs for the move then fail."

Beef prices continued to fall, however, as consumer appetite waned in the heat of the summer. Wholesale prices slid 38 cents to $203.76 per 100 pounds on Monday, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, down from almost $207 a week earlier.

Hog futures fell. July-dated contracts slid 0.3% to 79.75 cents a pound, with August futures falling 1.4%.

The cash market for physical hogs is expected to continue trending lower this week. Meatpackers on Monday were bidding steady money to a dollar less.

Write to Benjamin Parkin at benjamin.parkin@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 16, 2018 17:26 ET (21:26 GMT)

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