Cattle futures slip as screwworm cases rise in Mexico - CME
Hog futures ease on weak buying interest
3 October 2025
1 minute read
By: Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) cattle futures fell on profit-taking on Thursday, though hopes for the border reopening to Mexican cattle imports have also put a damper on prices, reported Reuters.
On Tuesday, the US Food and Drug Administration announced it had approved Dectomax-CA1, an injectable anti-parasitic medication, to prevent and treat screwworm in cattle.
However, Mexico saw a nearly 32% increase in confirmed screwworm cases, according to the latest monthly government data, as a concentration of cases moves north.
"It's starting to weigh on feeder cattle," Karl Setzer, partner at Consus Ag, said.
CME December live cattle fell 1.025 cents to end at 233.475 cents per pound. CME November feeder cattle fell 5.2 cents to end at 352.40 cents per pound.
CME December hogs closed 0.225 cent lower to end at 86.675 cents per pound. A lack of buying interest has weighed on lean hog futures.
Wholesale beef prices have mostly continued a seasonal decline. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported choice cuts of beef fell by $5.37 to end at $363.10 per hundredweight as of Thursday morning. Select cuts fell by $2.36 to $344.53.
Commodity markets may be left without further USDA data in the coming days after a US government shutdown started on Wednesday, amid political deadlock over short-term funding measures.
