U.S. livestock: Chicago cattle, hog futures see strong start to week 

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Published: March 17, 2025

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Both live and feeder cattle futures made healthy gains to start the trading week at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and boxed beef continued to climb on strong consumer demand.

Most active June live cattle settled at 201.075 cents a pound, up 1.725 cents. April contracts closed at 205.025 cents a pound, up 1.850 cents.

Most active May feeder cattle closed at 285.300 cents a pound, up 2.650 cents. April feeders settled at 284.200 cents per pound, for a gain of 3.000 cents.

Choice boxed beef gained $2.89 per cwt to close at $321.16, the USDA reported. Select boxed beef was valued at $307.90 per cwt, up $1.58.

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Chicago Mercantile Exchange feeder cattle futures extended gains to record highs on Wednesday while live cattle futures set a contract high before pulling back.

A shortage of high-quality cattle and beef supplies is behind the surge in boxed beef prices, wrote analyst Jim Wyckoff.
“Choice-grade boxed beef cutout values late last week were above $315.00 amid solid daily movement of boxed beef,” he said. “That suggests still-solid consumer demand for beef.”

Most active April lean hog futures settled at 88.075 cents per pound, up 1.450 cents. June lean hogs closed at 99.125 cents, up 2.825 cents per a pound.

The USDA put pork carcass cutout value at $97.65 per cwt, a gain of $0.27.

—Values reported in U.S. dollars

About the author

Geralyn Wichers

Geralyn Wichers

Digital editor, news and national affairs

Geralyn graduated from Red River College's Creative Communications program in 2019 and launched directly into agricultural journalism with the Manitoba Co-operator. Her enterprising, colourful reporting has earned awards such as the Dick Beamish award for current affairs feature writing and a Canadian Online Publishing Award, and in 2023 she represented Canada in the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists' Alltech Young Leaders Program. Geralyn is a co-host of the Armchair Anabaptist podcast, cat lover, and thrift store connoisseur.

 

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