CME feeder cattle reach new high on limited US supply
CHICAGO, - Chicago Mercantile Exchange feeder cattle futures reached new highs on Monday, while live cattle finished stronger on concerns over limited U.S. supplies, analysts said.
Although Washington began to resume cattle imports from Mexico, inventories remain tight and demand for beef from consumers is solid, they said.
CME August feeder cattle futures finished up 4.225 cents at 313.725 cents per pound. August live cattle ended 1.85 cents higher at 215.900 cents per pound.
Futures prices looked low compared with cash prices that traded last week, a trader said. CME feeder cattle also got a boost from declining prices for corn used for livestock feed, analysts added.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said last week it would resume cattle imports from Mexico at a port of entry in Douglas, Arizona, on Monday as part of a phased reopening of the border. The agency suspended imports in May due to spread of the damaging livestock pest New World screwworm in Mexico.
The decision to resume trade at the Douglas port will ease economic pain for some cattle producers who depend on imports from Mexico for their business, said Colin Woodall, CEO of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
Other cattle groups opposed the reopening and warned that it increases the risk for screwworm to enter the United States.
Mexico's government said it has started to build a $51 million facility in the country's south as part of an effort to combat screwworm. It is slated to be completed in the first half of 2026.
In the pork market, CME August lean hogs ended up 1 cent at 107.100 cents per pound, after falling earlier to their lowest level in more than a month.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
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