Cattle futures closed lower Friday.
Live Cattle futures closed an average of $1.33 lower. Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of $2.43 lower, except for $1.05 higher in spot May.
Week to week on Friday, Cattle futures gave back much of the previous week’s gains with Live Cattle an average of $4.04 lower and Feeder Cattle futures down an average of $8.11. Late-week pressure included chatter and algorithm fodder about the DOJ investigation into beef packers.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade ranged from inactive on light demand in the Southern Plains to light on moderate demand in the North through Friday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
For the week, FOB live prices were $1 higher in the Texas Panhandle at mostly $256/cwt., $1-$5 higher in Kansas at $255-$260, $3-$8 higher in Nebraska at mostly $260 and mostly $5 higher in the western Corn Belt at mainly $260. Dressed delivered prices were mostly $2 higher in Nebraska at mainly $402 and steady to $3 higher in the western Corn Belt at $400-$403.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $1.45 higher Friday afternoon at $388.39/cwt. Select was 59¢ higher at $385.01.
Estimated total cattle slaughter last week of 527,000 head was 7,000 head fewer than the previous week and 34,000 head fewer than the same week last year. Year-to-date estimated total cattle slaughter of 9.7 million head was 1 million head fewer (-9.4%). Estimated year-to-date beef production of 8.7 billion pounds was 641.4 million pounds less (-6.9%).
Grain and Soybean futures closed higher Friday, buoyed by optimism about next week’s trade talks with China and perhaps some early positioning of next Tuesday’s monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates.
Kansas City HRW Wheat futures closed 8¢ to 17¢ higher. Soybean futures closed 10¢ to 17¢ higher. Corn futures closed 3¢ to 4¢ higher.
Week to week on Friday, Corn futures were an average of 7¢ lower through the front six contracts.
******************************
Major U.S. financial indices closed higher Friday, led by tech stocks and positive jobs data.
Total non-farm payroll employment grew by 115,000 in April, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.3%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Average hourly earnings for all employees on private non-farm payrolls in April rose by 6¢ to $37.41. Over the year, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.6%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 12 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 61 points higher. The NASDAQ was up 440 points.
West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) closed 61¢ to $1.61 higher through the front six contracts. Those contracts were an average of $3.06 lower week to week on Friday.
******************************
Wholesale beef values have yet to jump with the seasonal spark expected this time of year.
“There tends to be a push for steak cuts as Memorial Day weekend approaches, but the rib and loin primal values are not indicating restaurants, grocers or food service chasing product to stock the meat counter,” says Andrew P. Griffith, agricultural economist at the University of Tennessee, in his weekly market comments. “This may mean nothing at all since beef prices remain elevated, but it could be a cause for concern as consumers are probably spending a higher percentage of their discretionary dollar on fuel instead of food. Cattle and beef markets are not immune to outside influences, and this may be what the market is experiencing.”
With that said, domestic consumer beef demand continues historically high. For instance, the Livestock Marketing Information (LMIC) retail all fresh beef demand index for the first quarter was up 10 points year over year at 147, the highest for the series going back to 2000.
“As the beef demand index reached a high for the series, the first-quarter all fresh retail beef prices were a record at $9.55 per pound, up $1.25 per pound (+15%) from the first quarter of 2025,” LMIC analysts say, in the latest Livestock Monitor.
For broader perspective, the first-quarter LMIC pork demand index was 1 point lower year over year at 93, the lowest level since 2017. The average first-quarter retail pork price was reported at $4.91 per pound, fractionally less than the prior year.
“Beef demand strengthened during the first quarter of 2026 while pork demand softened, but elevated fuel prices during the second quarter could threaten beef and pork demand over the summer grilling season,” LMIC analysts say.