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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