Live cattle futures surge on cash market, GDP data – CME

Lean hog futures end session steady to mixed

Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) cattle futures climbed on Thursday, as prices in the cash market rose and signs of strength appeared in the US economy, Reuters reported, citing market analysts.

At one point during the session, the most-active October live cattle futures contract surged up to 189.050 cents per pound – the highest price the contract has reached since October 18, 2023.

Lean hog futures ended the session steady to mixed, even as wholesale pork prices showed little sign of cooling.

The US economy grew faster than expected in the second quarter amid solid gains in consumer spending and business investment, according to the latest US Commerce Department data. Separately, government data showed that inflation had slowed and weekly jobless claims were lower than Wall Street analysts had expected.

And there were reports of at least one cash cattle trade of $190 per hundredweight (cwt) in the South on Thursday, about $2 higher than a week earlier, traders said. The price jump in the cash market was shocking, said Rich Nelson, chief strategist at Allendale, Inc.

Many analysts and traders had expected the cash market to trade relatively flat this week, as feedlots have been slow to sell off their stock and beef packer margins head further in the red.

But with the bump in GDP numbers, inflation-weary consumers may be feeling more confident about the economy and seeing some relief, which could fuel demand for beef, traders said.

As of Thursday afternoon, choice boxed beef cutout was at $312.46 per cwt, down $0.22 from a day earlier, while select cuts were up $1.15 at $295.11 per cwt, US Department of Agriculture data shows.

CME August live cattle futures ended up 2.00 cents at 188.900 cents per pound, while most-active October live cattle futures rose 2.325 cents at 188.600 cents per pound.

CME August feeders ended 1.500 cents higher at 258.625 cents per pound.

CME August lean hog futures traded flat at 93.775 cents per pound. October lean hog futures ended down 0.225 cent at 77.800 cents per pound.