U.S. livestock: Cash prices lift live cattle futures

Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures ended firmer on Friday, helped by higher cash prices, traders said. Packers in Texas and Kansas paid $132 per hundredweight (cwt) on Friday for cash or slaughter-ready cattle, $1 higher than last week, feedlot sources said (all figures US$). Generally tight cattle supplies in the near term and recent […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Live cattle pressured by profit-taking

Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures dipped on Tuesday on profit-taking as wholesale beef prices slipped and beef packer margins remained negative, traders said. Beef packer margins improved slightly on Tuesday, but were still in the red as lower wholesale prices squeezed profits. Choice wholesale beef values early on Tuesday were down 22 cents from […] Read more