Beef prices hit lowest since February as cattle futures slip - CME
Hog futures ease despite firm pork cutout
14 July 2026
1 minute read
By: Live cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) closed mostly unchanged on Monday after a choppy session as falling beef prices and weaker cash cattle trade from last week weighed on the market and limited price gains, Reuters reported, citing brokers.
Higher crude oil prices and a retreat in US equity markets added to bearish sentiment, raising concerns that consumers may cut back on expensive beef purchases.
Benchmark CME August live cattle settled down 0.475 cent at 234.725 cents per pound, but stayed above a three-month low of 232.925 cents seen on Friday. The October contract ended 0.075 cent higher at 230.625 cents a pound.
CME August feeder cattle settled down 0.250 cent at 354.350 cents per pound.
Wholesale beef prices tumbled. The US Department of Agriculture priced choice cuts at $375.61 per hundredweight on Monday afternoon, down $7.07 from Friday and the lowest reading since late February.
Slaughter-ready cattle traded in the southern Plains cash markets last week at around $248 per cwt, down about $7 from the week prior.
Managed commodity funds were net sellers of CME live cattle futures in the week ended June 30 but still maintained a sizeable net long position, data from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed, leaving the market prone to bouts of long liquidation.
CME hog futures declined on Monday. Benchmark August lean hogs settled down 0.900 cent at 98.100 cents per pound and October hogs ended down 0.800 cent at 84.275 cents a pound.
The USDA reported the pork carcass cutout value late on Monday at $101.55 per cwt, up 21 cents from Friday.
