Cattle Futures Stall, Despite a Red-Hot Cash Trade

Close up of brown cow in pasture by SaskiaAcht via iStock

Live Cattle (June)
More of the same for live cattle yesterday, seemingly every reason in the world to rally but just couldn’t get much going. Futures markets are waving a big caution flag despite the cash trade moving sharply higher. We would expect to see some convergence in these in the near future, which one does the heavy lifting (futures or cash) continues to be the million-dollar question.

Resistance: 210.00-211.00**
Pivot: 207.72-208.25
Support: 203.25-204.20**, 199.60-199.975***, 195.65-196.07***


Daily Cattle and Beef Summary

Cutout values were very mixed on Thursday afternoon with choice cuts 2.14 lower to 343.17 and select cuts 2.26 higher to 324.28. Slaughter on Thursday was reported at 120k head. The 5-area average price for live steers was reported at 220.71.

The CME feeder Cattle Index is at 295.77 with the NBW Real-Time Index showing 296.03 as of this morning.

Seasonal Tendency Update
(updated 4.28.25)

Below is a look at historical price averages for June futures on a 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 year time frames (Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results).

Commitment of Traders Update
Friday’s Commitment of Traders report showed Funds were net buyers of roughly 12k futures/options contracts, expanding their net long position to 120,460 futures and options contracts.

Check out the charts Here: https://bluelinefutures.com/2025/05/02/cattle-futures-stall-despite-a-red-hot-cash-trade/ 

Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss and may not be suitable for all investors. Therefore, carefully consider whether such trading is suitable for you in light of your financial condition. Trading advice is based on information taken from trade and statistical services and other sources Blue Line Futures, LLC believes are reliable. We do not guarantee that such information is accurate or complete and it should not be relied upon as such. Trading advice reflects our good faith judgment at a specific time and is subject to change without notice. There is no guarantee that the advice we give will result in profitable trades. All trading decisions will be made by the account holder. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.

Blue Line Futures is a member of NFA and is subject to NFA’s regulatory oversight and examinations. However, you should be aware that the NFA does not have regulatory oversight authority over underlying or spot virtual currency products or transactions or virtual currency exchanges, custodians or markets. Therefore, carefully consider whether such trading is suitable for you considering your financial condition.

With Cyber-attacks on the rise, attacking firms in the healthcare, financial, energy and other state and global sectors, Blue Line Futures wants you to be safe! Blue Line Futures will never contact you via a third party application. Blue Line Futures employees use only firm authorized email addresses and phone numbers. If you are contacted by any person and want to confirm identity please reach out to us at info@bluelinefutures.com or call us at 312- 278-0500

Performance Disclaimer

Hypothetical performance results have many inherent limitations, some of which are described below. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those shown. In fact, there are frequently sharp differences between hypothetical performance results and the actual results subsequently achieved by any particular trading program.

One of the limitations of hypothetical performance results is that they are generally prepared with the benefit of hindsight. In addition, hypothetical trading does not involve financial risk, and no hypothetical trading record can completely account for the impact of financial risk in actual trading. For example, the ability to withstand losses or to adhere to a particular trading program in spite of trading losses are material points which can also adversely affect actual trading results. There are numerous other factors related to the markets in general or to the implementation of any specific trading program which cannot be fully accounted for in the preparation of hypothetical performance results and all of which can adversely affect actual trading results.

This article contains syndicated content. We have not reviewed, approved, or endorsed the content, and may receive compensation for placement of the content on this site. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.