Cattle, hogs dive by daily limits as China tariffs fuel sell-offs - CME
Lean hog markets hit seven-month low
7 April 2025
2 minute read
By: Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) cattle and hog futures plunged by their daily trading limits on Friday as another massive selloff in global stock markets increased fears about a potential recession that could hurt consumer demand for meat, reported Reuters.
Wall Street sank after China said it would strike back at US President Donald Trump with additional tariffs of 34% on US goods, escalating a trade war that has stoked worries of an economic downturn.
"The concern is going to be domestic consumption, especially with beef. It's the higher-priced protein," said Matt Wiegand, commodity broker for risk management firm FuturesOne in Nebraska.
CME June live cattle futures fell 6.5 cents to end at 198.2 cents per pound, a three-week low. The market was primed for profit-taking after setting a contract high at 207.725 cents on Wednesday, traders said.
May feeder cattle futures hit a four-week low and closed down 8.25 cents at 274.875 cents per pound.
In the lean hog market, June futures dropped 4 cents to finish at 91.55 cents per pound, a seven-month low.
CME will temporarily expand its daily trading limits on Monday to 9.75 cents for live cattle, 12.25 cents for feeder cattle and 6 cents for hogs, according to the exchange.
Beijing's new levies fuelled fears that China, the world's biggest pork consumer, will buy less from the US Effective on April 10, China's total tariff rate on US pork and pork variety meat is set to increase to 81%, according to the US Meat Export Federation.
A 10% retaliatory duty on US pork entering China that took effect on March 10 increased China's effective tariff rate on US pork to 47%, the federation said. It added that most competitors' products are tariffed at 12%.
Chinese buyers have largely stopped purchasing American beef in recent weeks, US Department of Agriculture data show, after Beijing allowed export registrations to lapse for US beef facilities.
The majority of US beef production is now ineligible to be shipped to China, according to the federation.
