Hog futures fall but pork cutout tops $100 per cwt - CME
Cattle futures slip as consumer spending fears weigh on beef
1 June 2026
1 minute read
By: Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) live cattle and feeder cattle futures ticked down on Friday on a technical setback, while concerns over Americans' ability to afford beef grew, reported Reuters.
Steep gas prices and dour consumer sentiment have stoked fears that US consumers will cut back on purchasing beef, which is typically the priciest protein on grocery store shelves.
"They're looking at disposable income from consumers and wondering whether they'll pay higher beef prices," said Dan Basse, president of AgResource Company.
Oil futures fell more than 2% on Friday, closing out their steepest weekly decline since early April as traders awaited word that the US, Israel and Iran had reached agreement on a ceasefire.
August live cattle fell 1.95 cents to 239.05 cents per pound, and August feeder cattle futures fell 4.60 cents to 348.425 cents per pound.
For boxed beef, the US Department of Agriculture on Friday reported that values for choice cuts fell by 26 cents to $392.06 per hundredweight, while select cuts fell by $2.26 to $382.32 per hundredweight.
Packers were losing about $266.90 for each head of cattle they slaughtered on Thursday, an improvement from the previous week, according to HedgersEdge.com.
In CME's lean hog market, July futures fell 2.625 cents to 99.50 cents per pound.
The wholesale pork carcass cutout rose 91 cents to $100.02 per cwt, according to USDA.
