LIVESTOCK-CME cattle futures rebound alongside stock market after volatile week

By Renee Hickman

CHICAGO, April 11 (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures recovered on Friday as the stock market jumped at the end of a volatile week that pulled livestock futures along for a roller coaster ride driven by tariff dispute headlines.

CME June live cattle futures LCM25 rose 1.600 cents to end at 196.800 cents per pound, while May feeder cattle futures FCK25 closed up 3.400 cents at 278.700 cents per pound.

Stock prices were back up on Friday, capping a week that saw investors shaken by announcements of tariff reprieves and retaliations, including U.S. President Donald Trump announcing a 90-day tariff freeze on dozens of impacted countries Wednesday but an additional tariff hike on goods imported from China to 145% effectively — after considering levies implemented earlier this year.

China has been raising its tariffs on U.S. imports with each Trump increase, pushing retaliatory tariffs on American goods to 125%. Beijing signaled that this would be the final hike, though other forms of retaliation remain on the table.

The cattle market is highly dependent on the demand side of the market, analysts said, and the stock market swings could also indicate where consumer demand is headed.

"Cattle have been following the stock market lately," said Austin Schroeder, commodity analyst at Brugler Marketing and Management.

In wholesale values, choice cuts of boxed beef lost $0.07 to $334.22 per hundredweight (cwt) and select cuts fell $1.00 to $313.96 per cwt, the USDA reported on Friday afternoon.

Futures also rose in the lean hog market, though the April contract received pressure as the contract's expiration date neared, said Schroeder. June futures LHM25 settled up 0.150 cent to finish at 93.325 cents per pound.

In wholesale pork, USDA reported pork carcasses gained $2.26 to $91.96 per cwt.

The lean hog index price for the two days ending April 9 was $87.67. For the two days ending April 8, it was $88.00.