Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) cattle futures fell on Tuesday, led by sharp declines in feeder cattle values after the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a gradual restart of Mexican livestock imports following a prolonged closure over the damaging pest screwworm, Reuters reported, citing analysts.
The phased resumption of imports would help bolster supplies that have significantly tightened since the United States shut off shipments from south of the border on May 11.
"It's going to be a slow open over the next few months. They'll start to open up different ports of entry as long as they feel like they've got at least a handle on the screwworm issue. That put the pressure on things overall," said Dax Wedemeyer, analyst with Iowa-based US Commodities.
Signs that beef prices may be topping out after climbing recently to levels not seen since the COVID-19 pandemic also weighed on futures.
The choice boxed beef cutout was up just 4 cents on Tuesday afternoon at $395.60 per cwt while the select cutout fell $4.04 to $380.06 per cwt, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
CME August live cattle ended 3.125 cents lower at 210.750 cents per pound and August feeder cattle futures finished the day down 4.650 cents at 306.025 cents per pound.
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