Cattle futures rebound but weak cash trade tempers gains - CME
Hog futures edge higher as cash index continues to soften
17 November 2025
1 minute read
By: Cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) rebounded on Friday after falling the previous day, driven by weakening cash cattle prices and concerns about the wider economy, reported Reuters.
CME February live cattle futures settled up 0.575 cents at 219.525 cents per pound. January feeder cattle futures ended up 2.100 cents at 320.550 cents per pound.
Daily limits widened to 13.750 cents for feeder cattle futures and 10.750 cents for live cattle in Friday's trading session, the exchange said.
Cattle traded lightly in Kansas and Texas cash markets at $228 per hundredweight (cwt), traders said, down $2 to $4 from last week's cash trades.
Meanwhile, stock market dips this week also raised fears about consumer demand for beef.
"The question remains, are we in a cyclical bear market?" said Don Roose, president of US Commodities.
"The market continually cannot hold rallies," Roose said.
Traders continue to monitor an outbreak of the New World screwworm parasite in Mexico. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the opening of a sterile fly dispersal facility in Tampico, Mexico, as part of efforts to eradicate the pest by reducing the population of wild parasitic flies.
CME December lean hog futures settled up 0.525 cent at 79.375 cents per pound.
The CME's Lean Hog Index, a two-day weighted average of cash prices, fell 30 cents to $89.13 per cwt.
Traders also assessed the release of the USDA's monthly crop supply/demand report, the first since mid-September after the 43-day government shutdown saw it suspended.
