Live cattle futures are widely-traded commodities futures contracts, referring to cattle (cows) that have reached the requisite weight for slaughter, or about 600 to 800 pounds, which takes about six to ten months. At this point, they are transferred to feedlots and they will be considered feeder cattle, traded as feeder cattle futures.
Live cattle futures began trading in 1964 on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) as a non-storable commodity futures product.
The United States, Brazil and China are the world’s largest consumers of beef, according to the United Stated Department of Agriculture. It is estimated that a person eats an average of 67 pounds of meat and drink approximately 100 quarts of milk per year. This directly affects the prices of live cattle futures prices. In addition, the seasonal aspects of meat production, cyclical aspects of the cattle industry and consumer's desire for meat products make the contract attractive to commodities futures traders.
Contract Specifications
Contract Symbol | Contract Unit | Price Quotation |
GLE | 40,000 lbs | cents per pound |
Trading Exchange | Trading Hours | Tick Value |
CME GLOBEX | 9:15 - 13:00, | 1/4 cent = $10 |
ESM8 Jun '18 Emini S&P 262500 -1025 11:18:38 AM | GCLM8 Jun '18 GBXCrdOil 6770 0 11:18:37 AM | ZCN8 Jul '18 GBX Corn 3950 50 11:18:36 AM | ZBM8 Jun '18 GBX BOND 141250 -240 11:18:08 AM | IDXM8 Jun '18 ICE $Index 90985 450 11:28:37 AM | GNGM8 Jun '18 GBXNatGas 2795 -18 11:18:26 AM | GGCJ8 Apr '18 GBX CMX GC 13215 -99 11:13:27 AM | 6EM8 Jun '18 GbxEuroFX 12222 -63 11:18:37 AM | ZSN8 Jul '18 GBX Soybn 10414 74 11:17:43 AM |
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