Cattle markets posted a slight recovery on Friday but did little to reverse this week’s harsh selloff to multi-month lows. December live cattle traded 2.57 higher to close at $221.35 per cwt. The contract posted moderate gains as prices attempted to pause their selling above the 200-day moving average yesterday. Futures still closed $8.32 lower on the week. 

Prices were unable to recover from their selloff amid market uncertainty. The Trump administration continued to hold its view that beef prices are too high. In a Truth Social post on Friday, President Trump said he asked the Justice Department to begin an investigation into the meat packing industry. 

The choice boxed beef cutout traded slightly lower than last Friday, finishing around $377.40 per cwt. Prices remain well above their seasonal highs, underpinning strong market fundamentals. 

January feeder cattle futures traded $3.97 higher on Friday to $319.57 per cwt. Prices were able to hold above the 200-day moving average this week, which could provide some support after finishing $12.32 lower this week. 

The CME Feeder Cattle Index bounced off their lows from earlier this week but finished slightly below last week at $347.19. More chatter has been emerging that it wouldn’t be surprising if the Trump administration reopened the southern border to Mexican cattle imports soon. USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said recently that there is no timeline for resuming imports, but the uncertainty added to the recent market volatility. 

Brazil’s beef exports continued to hit a record in October, totaling 321,000 metric tons. Year-to-date shipments rose to 2.47 million metric tons, up 27 percent year-over-year. Brazil has been able to shift supplies to China, as U.S. tariffs on Brazilian beef imports have shifted trade flows. 

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PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS. FUTURES TRADING INVOLVES SUBSTANTIAL RISK AND IS NOT SUITABLE FOR ALL INVESTORS.