Cattle markets decline following all-time highs - CME
Lean hogs fall for seventh straight session
16 April 2026
1 minute read
By: Live cattle futures ended nearly flat on Wednesday after the market hit all-time highs during the previous session, as traders watched to see how much meatpackers would pay for livestock this week, reported Reuters.
Feeder cattle futures fell in a setback from contract highs reached on Tuesday.
Futures for both markets climbed recently due to strong cash prices, historically tight US supplies and strong demand for beef among consumers.
Traders are looking to see whether cash prices this week will exceed records set last week to support further gains in futures.
"The cattle market has been a cash-led bull market," a broker said. "All eyes are on the cash trade."
Most-active CME June live cattle ended down 0.35 cent at 251.075 cents per pound after setting a contract high of 252 cents per pound on Tuesday.
The thinly traded April contract traded up to 253.525 cents per pound, near Tuesday's all-time high on a continuous chart of the front-month live cattle contract.
US cattle inventories have dwindled to the lowest level in 75 years after ranchers increasingly sent cattle to slaughter in recent years, instead of keeping them for breeding, because of high prices and a drought that burned up grazing lands.
Packers, which must pay high prices to buy cattle to slaughter, were losing an estimated $203.50 per head on Wednesday, according to HedgersEdge.com.
Rising prices for corn, which is fed to cattle in feedlots, helped pressure feeder cattle futures, traders said.
CME May feeder cattle sank 3.9 cents to close at 370.950 cents per pound after touching a contract high of 377.575 cents per pound on Tuesday.
CME June lean hogs declined for the seventh consecutive session. The contract ended down 0.500 cent at 101.950 cents per pound and set the lowest price since December.
