Cattle futures mixed as holiday demand fears weigh - CME
Hog futures slip as packer losses deepen at $281 per head
2 July 2026
1 minute read
By: Live cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) closed narrowly mixed on Wednesday in range-bound trade as fears of softening beef prices offset support from tight US cattle supplies, Reuters reported, citing brokers.
Trade was choppy ahead of the Independence Day holiday weekend. US markets will be closed on Friday.
CME's benchmark August live cattle futures contract settled down 0.600 cent at 241.825 cents per pound while staying inside of Tuesday's trading range. October cattle ended 0.075 cent higher at 236.725 cents.
August feeder cattle finished the day down 0.450 cent at 364.150 cents per pound.
Wholesale beef prices ticked lower. The US Department of Agriculture priced choice cuts of beef at $391.26 per hundredweight, down $1.90 from Tuesday. Hot weather added to expectations of a seasonal slowdown in beef demand.
"Typically after the Fourth of July, you get a little weakness creeping in," Austin Schroeder, analyst for Brugler Marketing & Management, said of beef prices.
Packer margins remain deeply unprofitable. Livestock marketing advisory service HedgersEdge estimated beef packer losses of $280.85 per head on Wednesday.
CME hog futures ended lower, with August lean hogs settling down 1.150 cents at 97.050 cents per pound.
The USDA priced the pork carcass cutout at $95.71 per cwt, up 22 cents from Tuesday.
