Chicago cattle futures fell on Thursday but to a lesser degree compared to Wednesday’s limit-down drop.
Most-active December live cattle closed down 1.750 cents to 218.775 cents per pound. February contracts settled at 216.750 cents a pound, down 1.375 cents.
Most-active January feeder contracts closed down 4.375 cents at 315.600 cents a pound. March contracts settled at 311.000 cents per pound, down 4.675 cents.
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Choice boxed beef fell by $0.29 to end the afternoon at $377.97 per cwt, the USDA reported. Select beef closed at $360.76 per cwt, up $0.51.
Some brokers suggested Wednesday’s sell-off was due to uncertainty around U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs after U.S. Supreme Court justices raised doubts about the legality of the duties. Others said it was due to technical selling.
“A lot of this trading is done electronically, and once you start hitting some of the trip wires, it just keeps going,” said Altin Kalo, chief economist at Steiner Consulting Group.
Lean hog futures continued their downward trend. Most-traded December contracts closed at 78.975 cents a pound, down 1.625 cents. February lean hog futures settled at 79.825 cents per pound, down 1.150 cents.
Pork carcass cutout value settled at $97.18 per cwt, down $0.36.
-With files from Reuters
