Live cattle futures rose by $1.40 to $1.85 in Tuesday trading, with cash prices ranging from $230 to $232 in the South and $240 to $245 in the North. Feeder cattle futures also increased, up by $2.50 to $2.70, while the CME Feeder Cattle Index climbed $2.27 to $332.20 on July 28.
USDA reported that Wholesale Boxed Beef prices increased, with the Choice/Select spread widening to $21.71. Choice boxes decreased by $3.54 to $364.19, and Select dropped by $4.37 to $342.48. Estimated cattle slaughter for Tuesday was 113,000 head, bringing the weekly total to 221,000, which is 4,000 head higher than last week but 15,899 head lower than the same week in 2024.
