CME Cattle Futures Rise Amid Cash Market Strength

Cattle futures rose on Thursday at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) due to a firmer tone in the cash cattle market and lower corn prices, according to Reuters.

Doug Houghton, an analyst at Brock Associates, said that feedlots are still holding out for higher prices, but noted that weakness in beef cutout values would be a negative concern.

The drop in corn futures earlier in the session provided support to feeder cattle futures, and slaughtering operations continued to recover from recent disruptions caused by an immigration crackdown.

Meatpackers slaughtered 109,000 cattle on Thursday, up from 90,000 head a week earlier, according to US Department of Agriculture data. However, the immigration crackdown led to processing rates being affected, which can influence cattle prices by affecting meatpackers' demand.