Cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange were down by their daily limits on Wednesday, with speculative long liquidation a feature.
The December live cattle contract lost 7.250 cents per pound at 220.525 cents. Feeder cattle were down 9.250 cents in the January contract at 319.975 cents per pound.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins met with her Mexican counterparts on Tuesday. While the U.S. border remains closed to Mexican cattle for now, Rollins said President Trump was focused on reopening it. Rollins also praised how Mexico was handling the New World Screwworm outbreak in the country — the reason behind the border closure.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported wholesale boxed beef prices were mixed, with choice boxes up $0.68 at $378.26 per hundredweight and select boxes down $1.00 at $360.25/cwt.
The ongoing shutdown of the United States government remained a feature in the background, with confusion over payments under SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) keeping some caution in the markets.
Lean hog prices were mixed. The December contract was up 0.675 cents at 80.600 cents per pound.
