Feeder cattle futures recover after hitting fresh lows - CME
Hog futures firm on strong pork prices, rising cash values
24 July 2026
1 minute read
By: Feeder cattle futures firmed up Thursday after reaching new lows not seen since early June on profit-taking after the previous day's selloff, Reuters reported, citing analysts.
Hot weather in the Midwest has made feeder cattle buyers reluctant to buy animals to place on feedlots in recent weeks, causing futures to slump.
But on Thursday, CME August feeder cattle futures rose 2.60 cents to finish at 343.775 cents per pound.
Meanwhile, grains used in feed trimmed their gains from the previous day.
On the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), soybean futures settled up 4-3/4 cents at $12.43-3/4 per bushel, and corn futures settled up 2 cents at $4.64 per bushel.
Live cattle futures dipped, with CME August live cattle settling 2.20 cents lower at 225.400.
Boxed beef prices fell with choice cuts of beef losing $0.63 to $362.87 per hundredweight (cwt), according to the US Department of Agriculture on Thursday afternoon. Select cuts fell $1.82 to $348.75 per cwt.
Meat packers were in the red, losing $255.55 per head of cattle on Wednesday, compared with losses of $228.75 the previous day, according to livestock marketing advisory service HedgersEdge.com.
The US Department of Agriculture's cattle on feed report is due out on Friday afternoon, causing some pre-report positioning among traders, according to Doug Houghton, analyst at the Brock Report.
He said there was interest among market players in whether the beef cow herd liquidation that has taken place in recent months is over, but drought conditions in the US Plains may have prevented expansion.
In lean hogs, trade was choppy, with support from strong wholesale pork prices and rising cash hog prices, said Houghton.
CME October hogs firmed 0.225 cent to finish at 88.350 cents per pound.
The CME's Lean Hog Index, a two-day weighted average of cash hog prices, was last quoted at $97.08, up from $96.64 the previous day.
The USDA priced the pork carcass cutout late on Tuesday at $104.48 per cwt, up $0.98.
