US: Cattle Market Review Week 26, June 30, 2025

Beef prices near record highs could be dampening consumer demand, which typically slows after the upcoming Independence Day holiday . Most retailers have already stocked up on the MEAT they need for Independence Day, the ultimate barbecue holiday. “Retailers are definitely not stocking up for a lot of demand,” said Matthew Wiegand, a broker at FuturesOne.

Live cattle futures rose Friday, closing higher between $3.05 and $4.10 ahead of the weekend. Cash markets last week saw cattle sell at $230-$233 in the north and $223-$225 in the south. The Central Stockyards Fed Cattle Exchange auction on Friday saw cattle sell at $224-$225, while BidTheGrid™ sold at $225 and $230. Feeder cattle futures moved into the running phase Friday, closing at $4.30-$4.60. The August contract had gained $5.45 last week. The CME Feeder Cattle Index rose 58 cents to $311.97.

On Friday, union workers at Tyson's 5,500-head-capacity Texas plant sanctioned a strike, shutting down the plant and putting further pressure on the market.   

WEEKLY COST OF CUT OUT CAT.CHOICE

CATTLE SALES

Sale of cattle, heads

Average weight

Week 25

Week 26

Growth per week,%

Week 25

Week 26

Growth per week,%

Bulls (live weight)

11 405

8 414

-26.2%

1,490

1,473

-1.1%

Heifers (live weight)

4 040

2 351

-41.8%

1 355

1 321

-2.5%

Bulls (slaughter weight)

10 988

4 675

-57.5%

983

965

-1.8%

Heifers (slaughter weight)

2 780

943

-66.1%

869

877

0.9%

WEEKLY WEIGHTED AVERAGE BULL PRICE

BEEF PRODUCTION                                                                     

Indicator

Week 26

Previous week

A year ago

Growth per week,%

Growth per year, %

Volume of cattle slaughter

560,000

560,000

610,000

0.0%

-8.2%

Live weight

1 415

1 419

1 378

-0.3%

2.7%

Slaughter weight

865

868

841

-0.3%

2.9%

Beef Production (million pounds)

484.0

485,0

512.0

-0.2%

-5.5%

WEEKLY CHOICE/SELECT PRICE SHOULDER

CME: Live Cattle Futures

Week 25

Week 26

Growth per week,%

June

223.03

224.50

0.7%

August

209.83

213.30

1.7%

October

207.35

209.82

1.2%

CME: Feeder Cattle Futures

August

302.45

307.90

1.8%

September

302.23

307.90

1.9%

October

300.35

305.25

1.6%

You can learn more about the state of the cattle market in the usa ( cattle prices , cost of beef by category, production dynamics) in the weekly reviews of the meat market in RUSSIA and in the world from Meatinfo.ru. Weekly reviews are available as part of a subscription.