Live cattle prices experienced midday gains ranging from 47 cents to $1.02 for front months, while cash trade settled at $240-244 in the north and $242-245 in the south. The CME Feeder Cattle Index dipped 69 cents to $374.47 on February 5. An estimated 9,500 head are set for sale at the Monday OKC feeder cattle auction, indicating a higher undertone.
On February 24, President Trump signed an executive order increasing the tariff-rate quota (TRQ) on beef imports from Argentina by 80,000 metric tons (MT). For context, average monthly beef imports from all origins were 151,666 MT in 2025.
As of February 3, the weekly Commitment of Traders report highlighted an addition of 8,846 contracts to the managed money net long position in live cattle futures, totaling 114,531 contracts. Meanwhile, feeder cattle speculators trimmed 194 contracts, bringing the net long down to 16,435 contracts. Last week’s federally inspected cattle slaughter was estimated at 536,000 head, 8,000 above the previous week but 46,606 below the same week last year.
