Beef futures fall as oil surge sparks demand fears
16 June 2025
2 minute learn
Benchmark reside cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Alternate (CME) tumbled 2.1% on Friday as rising crude oil costs and geopolitical instability raised worries about shopper demand for meat, prompting speculators to take earnings after the market soared to all-time highs this week, Reuters reported, citing analysts.
Most-active August reside cattle futures settled down 4.500 cents at 212.450 cents per pound. The thinly traded June contract ended down 3.100 cents at 225.100 cents per pound, a day after reaching 229.125 cents, the highest-ever studying on a steady chart of the entrance contract.
CME August feeder cattle futures closed Friday down 4.825 cents at 306.425 cents per pound.
Agency money cattle markets, tight US cattle provides and traditionally excessive wholesale beef costs propelled cattle futures increased this week.
However Friday’s 7% bounce in crude oil CLc1 futures, after Israel launched navy strikes on Iran, appeared to set off a spherical of profit-taking. Commodity funds maintain hefty web lengthy positions in CME reside cattle and lean hog futures, leaving each markets liable to bouts of lengthy liquidation.
“Excessive crude oil costs aren’t essentially good for meat demand… and the lengthy facet of the market has been loaded up,” mentioned Doug Houghton, an analyst at Brock Associates.
The US Division of Agriculture priced selection cuts of beef on Friday afternoon at $377.88 per hundredweight, up $1.16 from Thursday, and choose cuts rose 43 cents to $363.50 per cwt. Each readings have been the best in 5 years. Beef demand sometimes reaches a seasonal high across the Father’s Day and Fourth of July holidays, analysts mentioned.
CME hog futures ended combined, holding close to life-of-contract highs set this week as strong money hog markets and wholesale pork costs continued to underpin the market.
July lean hogs settled up 0.575 cent at 109.475 cents per pound whereas August hogs completed down 0.050 cent at 110.125 cents.
The USDA priced pork carcasses on Friday afternoon at $118.06 per cwt, up $3.56 from Thursday.
In the meantime, China accepted 106 new US pork and poultry vegetation to export eligible merchandise produced on or after June 12, Chinese language Customs mentioned in a discover on its web site. Lots of of US meat vegetation gained entry to China below the 2020 “Part 1” commerce deal brokered by President Donald Trump, however many misplaced their eligibility earlier this 12 months.
