On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) on Tuesday, June 4, futures for feeder cattle recovered, the reason for this is the hope of traders that the cost of feed will remain under pressure after the news of US purchases of corn from South America.

Livestock and lean pork futures also rose amid a rally in the US stock market and forecasts of warming in the coming days, which is expected to support consumer demand for meat as the grilling season begins, traders said.

Corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade rose sharply in morning trading after the US Department of Agriculture reported that sowing in the United States was significantly slower than average at this time of year after repeated rains.

Traders said livestock futures were also up on the news that Brazil had suspended beef exports to China due to an atypical case of mad cow disease in the leading agricultural state of Mato Grosso, and that China plans to strengthen Canadian meat and meat import inspections in light of worsening bilateral trade relations.

Traders have warned that livestock prices may decline this week. The August cattle feeder ended Tuesday at 3.95 cents lower at 137.45 cents a pound, while September feeders rose 3.75 cents to 137.875 cents.

CME pig indices in June fell 0.45 cents to 81.125 cents per pound - narrowing the gap between the cash market and futures - while the most actively traded pigs rose 1.275 cents in July to 85.8 cents.