The price of choice-grade U.S. beef at wholesale set a new record on Thursday as already tight supplies were further squeezed by harsh weather that reduced the number of cattle that came to market in parts of the country, analysts said. Select beef cuts on Thursday also marked a fresh record high for a fifth straight day, Reuters reports.

The day's wholesale price, or cutout, for choice beef hit $212.05 per hundredweight (cwt), eclipsing the previous May, 2013 record of $211.37, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"Tight beef supplies is the underlying principal factor," said University of Missouri livestock economist Ron Plain.

Packers hiked the price of beef it sells to grocers and restaurateurs after last week paying up to $138 per cwt for slaughter-ready cattle in the U.S. Plains - also a record high, he said.

For more information, go to http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/09/usa-beef-idUSL2N0KJ2GL20140109.

Source: Reuters