Hog futures edge higher amid weather concerns - CME
Cattle futures ease as cash trade cools
19 February 2026
1 minute read
By: Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) cattle futures ticked down on Wednesday after climbing on Tuesday, taking their cue from the cash markets, Reuters reported, citing analysts.
CME April live cattle futures settled 0.275 cent lower to 242.525 cents per pound. March feeder cattle ended 0.400 cent lower at 370.575 cents per pound.
Beef packers lost $345.45 per head on Wednesday, compared with losses of $318.95 per head on Tuesday, according to livestock marketing advisory service HedgersEdge.com
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported 113,000 cattle were slaughtered on Wednesday.
Choice cuts of beef were priced at $363.80 per hundredweight, down 96 cents from Tuesday, according to USDA data.
Select cuts of beef rose $0.41 to $360.63 per cwt. Consumer demand for beef has remained strong, despite record-high beef prices.
Lean hog futures firmed, having swung back and forth over the previous weeks on concerns about winter weather and diseases in the herd, according to Altin Kalo, head economist at Steiner Consulting Group.
In boxed pork, the USDA reported pork carcasses at $95.56 per cwt, down $0.32.
CME April hogs settled 0.250 cent higher at 92.55 cents per pound.
