Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle and feeder cattle futures dipped on Monday after reaching record highs last week.
Most active February live cattle closed at 197.400 cents per pound, down 1.375 cents from Friday. The second-most active April futures closed at 198.200, down 1.275 cents.
Most active March feeder cattle futures settled at 267.900 cents per pound, down 1.500 cents. January feeder cattle closed at 271.850 cents per pound, down 0.500 cents.
“With live and feeder cattle futures prices at record highs, do expect to see some normal downside price corrections and profit-taking pressure from the speculators in the coming weeks,” wrote analyst Jim Wyckoff.
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U.S. livestock: Feeder cattle extend rally to new highs
Chicago Mercantile Exchange feeder cattle futures extended gains to record highs on Wednesday while live cattle futures set a contract high before pulling back.
That said, there are no solid fundamental signs that cattle markets have topped out or will soon start a significant downward trend, he added.
Choice boxed beef was valued at $333.35 per cwt at this afternoon, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported. That was $0.51 up from Friday. Select boxed beef was priced at $317.57 per cwt, up $3.43.
Lean hog futures ended the day with slight gains. Most active February futures closed at 83.175 cents per pound, up 0.635 cents. Second-most active April futures settled at 89.300 cents, up 0.625 cents per pound.
Pork cutout values ended lower, the USDA reported, with carcasses going for $90.20 per cwt, down $1.16 from Friday.
U.S. hay stocks were up 6.3 per cent year over year as 2025 dawned, The Cattle Range reported today. While they’ve yet to reach the 10-year average, supplies have recovered from drought lows of 2022 and 2023. Prices have also come down from record levels in 2022 and 2023.
—All prices in USD
