Commodities Thursday, Sept. 19, 1985 : Livestock Prices Advance

Livestock prices rallied for the fourth session this week Thursday on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Frozen pork bellies were lower.

So far this week, live cattle have gained about 2 cents a pound and hogs nearly 3 cents a pound. Pork bellies also have gained 3 cents a pound this week despite the decline Thursday.

The rally in livestock futures Thursday followed a similar move in cash wholesale prices for hogs and cattle, said Chuck Levitt, a livestock analyst with Shearson Lehman Bros.

Strength in wholesale prices for pork cuts and beef carcasses contributed to the rally, Levitt said.

Further, he added, demand from meatpackers has been strong because they’ve been earning substantial profits by slaughtering hogs at current price levels. The slaughter Thursday of an estimated 334,000 animals exceeded market expectations.

Part of the buying also was in anticipation of several reports that are scheduled to be released Monday by the Agriculture Department.

The reports are expected to show a decline of about 3% in the number of hogs and pigs on farms in the 10 major pork producing states and a decline of 10% in the number of cattle in seven major beef producing states.