CME Cattle Futures Close Slightly Higher Amid Packer Demand

Livestock Market Update: CME Live Cattle Futures Rise Amid Strong Demand

Chicago, IL - April 8, 2024

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) saw live cattle futures rise modestly on Wednesday, with prices hovering near historic peaks due to strong demand from meat packers. Analysts attribute this surge to the approaching U.S. grilling season, with meat packers needing to process cattle in anticipation of increased demand.

Benchmark CME June live cattle futures settled at 245.925 cents per pound, up 0.125 cent from the previous day. The April contract, which is thinly traded, reached an all-time high of 249.750 cents per pound before settling at 249.0 cents. CME May feeder cattle futures rose 1.375 cents to end at 368.0 cents per pound.

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Cash markets for slaughter-ready cattle were mostly inactive, with prices ranging from $245 to $246 per hundredweight in Texas and Kansas last week. However, some analysts expect average cash prices to remain steady or higher this week. The strong profit margins for beef in late March have spurred meat packers to source more cattle this month.

The labor stoppage at a JBS beef processing plant in Greeley, Colorado, has also come to an end, with workers agreeing to return to work this week. This added to the demand for cattle, causing feedlots to raise their asking prices.

Meanwhile, wholesale beef prices have been retreating from multi-month highs set in mid-March. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported choice beef cuts at $379.66 per cwt on Wednesday afternoon, down $3.08 from Tuesday.

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In contrast, CME lean hog futures closed lower for a second session, with the most-active June contract settling down 2.400 cents at 104.650 cents per pound. The wholesale pork carcass cutout, as quoted by the USDA, was down 91 cents from Tuesday at $96.91 per cwt.