Hog prices close mixed after touching six-month low - CME
Cattle futures rise for third straight session
12 June 2026
1 minute read
By: Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) live cattle futures rose on Thursday for a third straight session, led by firm cash cattle markets and spillover strength from Wall Street equities, Reuters reported, citing traders.
Live cattle futures have narrowed their discount to equivalent cash cattle prices but were still trading below last week's cash cattle trades at $256 to $258 per hundredweight.
Front-month CME June live cattle futures settled up 1.375 cents on Thursday at 251.475 cents per pound, and most-active August cattle closed up 1.175 cents at 242.675 cents a pound. The first notice day for deliveries against the June futures contract was June 8.
"We're still seeing cash trade at a premium to the board, and now that we are in delivery, (futures) should re-converge with where cash is," said Matthew Wiegand, a broker at FuturesOne.
Cash cattle trade was largely inactive on Thursday but traders expected steady to higher cash prices this week.
CME August feeder cattle futures jumped 5.275 cents on Thursday to settle at 359.650 cents per pound.
Meanwhile, US stocks ended sharply higher, with major indexes extending gains after US President Donald Trump said he canceled planned strikes against Iran, and on the eve of the market debut of Elon Musk's SpaceX. Stronger equity markets tend to boost confidence about consumer demand for meat.
The US Department of Agriculture priced choice cuts of beef on Thursday afternoon at $393.21 per cwt, down 8 cents from Wednesday.
"Boxed beef has hung in there. It's still probably not making the (meat) packers any money, but it's enough to keep us going," Wiegand said.
Market players continue to monitor outbreaks of New World screwworm after the first domestic infestation of the parasite in decades was found in a Texas calf last week. The USDA confirmed a total of nine US screwworm cases as of Thursday.
CME lean hog futures closed mixed. July hogs settled down 0.225 cent at 96.625 cents per pound but stayed above Wednesday's six-month low of 95.500 cents. August hogs ended up 0.475 cent at 95.900 cents.
The USDA priced pork carcasses late on Thursday at $94.47 per cwt, down $1.49 from Wednesday.
