CHICAGO — Live and feeder cattle futures closed Friday lower and posted sizable weekly losses, as traders focused on Washington’s plan to bring in more foreign beef rather than on historically tight U.S. cattle supplies.
October live cattle settled at $211.725 per hundredweight, down $1.20 on the day and about $6.20 for the week. December live cattle finished at $213.725, off more than $1. August live cattle, the expiring front month, settled at $219.25. September feeder cattle settled at $320.90, down $1.55 Friday and roughly $8.12 on the week, while October feeders closed at $316.525. The CME Feeder Cattle Index for Thursday was $332.80, down 67 cents.
Cash cattle markets also softened. Northern trade this week was reported around $218 to $220 live in Nebraska, $7 to $10 below last week, while some Texas and Kansas sellers held out for higher prices. Choice boxed beef weakened further Friday, falling $5.13 to $376.23 after several days of losses. Federally inspected slaughter was estimated at 542,000 head, up from the prior week but still below year-ago levels.
The main catalyst behind the selloff was President Trump’s plan to expand imports of lean beef trimmings. A proclamation finalized this week would allow up to 300,000 metric tons of imports over 90 days beginning Sept. 1, or roughly 100,000 tons a month, under the in-quota tariff rate. The administration said the product should be sold at a 25% discount to help lower ground-beef prices for consumers.
Ranch groups, including the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the American Farm Bureau, warned that the timing of the plan hits the fall calf-selling season and could slow herd rebuilding efforts following years of drought and a U.S. cattle inventory near a 75-year low. Trump separately said he wants to give ranchers the ability to process more of their own cattle to loosen concentration among meatpackers. Mexican feeder-cattle crossings are also restarting in small volumes.
Market commentary indicated that the policy headlines overpowered otherwise bullish supply data, including record-low July placements and marketings, shrinking feedlot inventories, and a cattle-and-beef strength index down nearly 10% over 10 days and almost 29% from two months earlier. Managed-money traders cut their net long positions in both live and feeder cattle contracts. Drought conditions remain a concern in parts of Kansas and Colorado.
Analysts noted that lean trimmings typically compete more directly with cull-cow and grinding markets than with fed steers, but futures still sold off as traders priced in cheaper imported product and uncertainty over where the beef will ultimately originate. Corn futures firmed into the weekend, offering a modest offset on the feed-cost side for cattle producers.
Markets resume trading Tuesday following the Labor Day holiday.
