Cattle futures closed narrowly mixed Monday, following early-session strength supported by last week’s strong cash fed cattle prices and Friday’s friendly Cattle on Feed report.
Toward the close, Live Cattle futures were an average of 42¢ lower. Feeder Cattle futures were an average of 23¢ lower, except for an average of 16¢ higher in the front two contracts.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade was at standstill in all major cattle feeding regions through Monday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
FOB live prices last week were $210/cwt. in the Southern Plains $212-$215 in the North. Dressed delivered prices were $335.
Last week’s five-area direct weighted average FOB live fed steer price was $7.46 higher at $212.76. The weighted average dressed delivered fed steer price was $10.18 higher at $335.15.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $1.65 higher Monday afternoon at $327.10/cwt. Select was $3.96 higher at $313.58.
Turning to the grain complex, futures continued their mixed choppiness Monday.
Toward the close and through Sep ’25 contracts, Corn futures were fractionally mixed. Kansas City Wheat futures were 11¢ lower. Soybean futures were 2¢ lower.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed higher Monday, apparently buoyed by White House rhetoric suggesting a potentially softer tariff stance.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 597 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 100 points higher. The NASDAQ was up 404 points.
Through mid-afternoon, West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures on the CME were 70¢ to 90¢ higher through the front six contracts.
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Cattle export volume from Mexico to the U.S. is slowly recovering, according to Derrell Peel, Extension livestock specialist at Oklahoma State University. Shipments resumed in early-February following closure of the U.S. border since late November, due to New World Screwworm.
Peel provides perspective to trade volume over time and ongoing drought challenges facing Mexican cow-calf producers, in his weekly market comments.
“November and December typically account for over 22% of annual Mexican cattle shipments to the U.S., along with another 7.2% in January, but much of that was preempted by the border closure,” Peel says. “The drought and feed scarcity have made it very difficult and expensive to hold cattle waiting for access to the U.S. market. Some cattle have been rerouted into domestic Mexican markets.”
Peel explains 37.7% Mexican cattle imports into the U.S. last year were spayed heifers, compared to an average of 15.7% over the previous two decades. Since the border reopened, he says spayed heifers represent 42.2% of Mexican imports to the U.S., likely indicating further drought-forced liquidation of herds in northern Mexico.
Further, Peel points the requirement that heifers must be exported within 180 days after spaying.
“Total Mexican cattle exports to the U.S. are expected to be significantly lower year over year in 2025 due to the slow start to exports in the first quarter of the year, fewer heifers in the export mix, and the likelihood that total cattle numbers are down, meaning that there are simply less Mexican cattle available for export,” Peel says.
Listen to more of Peel’s insights here.