Hog futures edge higher on firm pork cutout - CME
Feeder cattle futures fall on heat, rising grain prices
23 July 2026
1 minute read
By: Feeder cattle futures sagged on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) on Wednesday as the cash cattle trade remained weak with hot, humid weather in large parts of the Midwest, Reuters reported, citing analysts.
CME August feeder cattle futures fell 8.375 cents to finish at 341.175 cents per pound.
The feeder cattle market suffered as high temperatures made buyers less interested in placing cattle on feedlots, with even more extreme heat forecast for next week, according to an analyst note.
Meanwhile, prices for grains used in feed shot up on Wednesday, further pressuring feeder cattle futures.
On the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), soybeans gained 15-1/4 cents to $12.39 a bushel. Meanwhile, corn futures rose 9-1/2 cents to $4.84-3/4 a bushel.
Live cattle futures also dropped, with CME August live cattle settling 3.50 cents lower at 223.200, having hit its lowest point since March 9.
Boxed beef prices dipped with choice cuts of beef losing $3.41 to $363.50 per hundredweight (cwt), according to the US Department of Agriculture on Wednesday afternoon. Select cuts fell $3.66 to $350.57 per cwt.
Meat packers were in the red, losing $228.75 per head of cattle on Wednesday, compared with losses of $217.65 the previous day, according to livestock marketing advisory service HedgersEdge.com.
The US Department of Agriculture's cattle on feed report is due out on Friday afternoon.
CME October hogs firmed 0.225 cent to finish at 88.350 cents per pound.
The CME's Lean Hog Index, a two-day weighted average of cash hog prices, was last quoted at $96.64.
The USDA priced the pork carcass cutout late on Tuesday at $103.50 per cwt, up $1.32.
