Pork prices slide as carcass values drop across cuts - CME
Beef futures climb on tight supply, USDA output cuts
13 August 2025
2 minute read
By: Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) live cattle futures advanced on Tuesday on sharply higher beef values and tight cattle supplies that have cash market prices hovering around historic highs, reported Reuters.
Futures got an additional lift as the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) cut its 2025 and 2026 beef production forecasts in a monthly supply-and-demand report as tighter supplies appeared likely to keep beef prices elevated.
Feeder cattle futures followed live cattle higher, propelled by lower feed costs after the USDA projected a record-smashing US corn harvest this autumn.
"The cash market just remains so strong and beef cutout values are suddenly soaring again," said Doug Houghton, an analyst at Brock Associates.
"Feeder cattle are benefiting from tight supplies. And with the corn market falling apart, that had support in there as well as long as the imports from Mexico remain suspended," he said, referring to the recent halt of Mexican cattle imports to control the spread of the deadly livestock pest New World Screwworm.
Meanwhile, resilient consumer demand for high-priced beef has supported the market, and the USDA on Tuesday projected tighter supplies ahead.
In a monthly report on Tuesday, the USDA pegged 2025 beef production at 25.926 billion pounds, down 1% from its forecast last month. Production in 2026 was seen at 25.470 billion pounds, down 1.4% from USDA's view a month ago.
The choice boxed beef cutout value surged $9.06 to $390.58 per hundredweight (cwt) on Tuesday while select beef gained $6.03 to $365.64 per cwt, the USDA said.
October live cattle futures ended 2.925 cents higher at 229.025 cents per pound. September feeder cattle settled 5.650 cents higher at 346.250 cents per pound.
Lower pork prices pressured CME lean hog futures on Tuesday, sending the October contract down 0.175 cent to 91.600 cents per pound.
The pork carcass cutout tumbled $4.39 to $114.70 per cwt following sharp declines in prices for loins, picnics, hams and bellies, according to USDA data.
