U.S. livestock: Cattle futures slip on demand concerns as beef prices turn lower

Chicago | Reuters—Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures dipped on Tuesday as gains fueled by tight cattle supplies and strong demand faded amid concerns that high beef prices and cooling weather could soon affect retail meat sales, analysts said.

Cattle futures stumbled as traders returned from the long U.S. Labor Day weekend, considered the final outdoor grilling holiday of the summer, as wholesale beef prices eased from multi-year highs last week.

A historically low supply of cattle, which has been further constrained by the closure of the U.S.-Mexico border to feeder cattle imports due to the spread of screwworm, has kept a firm floor under the market this summer. Traders have been watching for signs of slowing consumer demand for beef as prices have soared.

“Many retailers and packers both have been absorbing a portion of elevated beef costs but are now having to pass more of these along to consumers. This will likely impact beef demand, especially as the grilling season comes to an end,” said Karl Setzer, partner at Consus Ag Consulting.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said the choice boxed beef cutout price fell to $413.42 per hundredweight on Tuesday, down $1.99 from Friday’s value, which was the highest since May 2020. The select cutout was down $3.83 at $386.17 per cwt after hitting its highest since May 2020 early last week.

CME October live cattle futures LCV25 ended down 0.125 cent at 239.525 cents per pound after rising to within 0.875 cent of a contract high posted last Wednesday. October feeder cattle FCV25 fell 0.775 cent to end at 363.700 cents per pound.

Lean hog futures ended higher as the wholesale pork carcass cutout value increased in the USDA’s morning update.

CME October lean hogs LHV25 ended 0.525 cent higher at 95.550 cents per pound.