CHICAGO, Nov 17 (Reuters) – Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures ended higher on Monday as traders shrugged off U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to roll back tariffs on beef imports last week.
The tariff cuts were negative for cattle futures on Thursday and Friday, said Rich Nelson, chief strategist for Allendale. Reduced duties on imports can signal that increasing supplies of beef may be coming into the U.S.
By Monday, though, the news had been factored into the markets, Nelson said.
CME February live cattle futures settled up 2.250 cents at 221.775 cents per pound. January feeder cattle futures ended up 5.725 cents at 326.275 cents per pound.
The Trump administration on Thursday announced framework trade deals that, once finalized, will eliminate tariffs on certain foods and other imports from Argentina, Ecuador, Guatemala and El Salvador, with U.S. officials eyeing additional agreements before the year’s end.
On Friday, Trump rolled back tariffs on more than 200 food products, including beef, in the face of growing angst among American consumers about the high cost of groceries.
Australia cautiously welcomed Trump’s rollback of his tariffs on beef over the weekend. U.S. food companies have increasingly turned to Australia for beef, often used for making hamburgers, as the U.S. cattle herd has dwindled to its smallest size in decades.
Traders were waiting for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to issue a monthly Cattle on Feed report on November 21. The report should show the seventh month in a row of lower placements into feedlots, Nelson said.
The USDA did not release data in October due to the federal government’s shutdown.
In the hog market, CME February futures settled up 0.05 cent at 79.425 cents per pound. (Reporting by Tom Polansek; Editing by Vijay Kishore)
