Live Cattle Futures Slide as Cash Trade Stalls and Wholesale Beef Weakens

Live cattle futures traded lower at midday, pressured by sluggish cash activity and softer wholesale beef values. June live cattle declined 35 cents while August and October contracts fell $1.20 and $1.375 respectively. Feeder cattle futures dropped $3.47 to $3.70 across the board.

Cash trade remained thin, with light volume reported at $260 live and $408 dressed in the northern plains on Wednesday, while scattered bids surfaced at $255. The Friday morning Fed Cattle Exchange auction saw no sales on 1,636 head offered, with bids stalled at $255. The CME Feeder Cattle Index rose $6.03 on June 24 to $381.86.

USDA cold storage data released Thursday showed beef stocks at 403.474 million pounds at the end of May, down 1.06% from a year ago and 0.49% from the end of April.

Wholesale boxed beef prices declined in the Friday morning report. Choice boxes fell $4.22 to $392.10 while Select dropped $2.33 to $372.41, narrowing the Choice/Select spread to $19.69.

Federally inspected cattle slaughter for Thursday was estimated at 109,000 head, bringing the weekly total to 433,000 head — up 7,000 from the prior week but 18,966 below the same week last year.

Key futures levels at midday:

• June 2025 Live Cattle: $257.05, down $0.35
• August 2025 Live Cattle: $246.025, down $1.20
• October 2025 Live Cattle: $239.25, down $1.375
• August 2025 Feeder Cattle: $369.825, down $3.475
• September 2025 Feeder Cattle: $367.70, down $3.675
• October 2025 Feeder Cattle: $364.825, down $3.525

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