Live cattle and feeder cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) declined for a third consecutive session on Thursday, as expectations of increasing beef supplies continued to trigger selling in what had been a strongly bullish cattle market, reported Reuters.
The decline was largely a technical move driven by the liquidation of long positions, particularly in feeder cattle futures, according to Doug Houghton, an analyst with Brock Associates.
He, however, noted that concerns about a potential resumption of feeder cattle imports from Mexico also added fundamental pressure to the market.
After a long bull market underpinned by low cattle supplies, said Houghton, "The whole market mood seems to have changed."