Cattle futures rise on expected China meat demand

Cattle and hog futures at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange increased on March 17, driven by expectations of higher demand from China. June live cattle rose 1.725 cents to 201.075 cents per pound, while April feeder cattle gained 3 cents to 284.2 cents per pound. China's new economic stimulus plan aims to boost domestic consumption, which has been weak due to COVID-19 and economic challenges. This has raised investor hopes for increased meat imports from China, the world's largest meat buyer. Additionally, China renewed registrations for U.S. pork and poultry facilities, allowing exports to resume. Canada also restarted imports from a major U.S. pork-processing plant after a brief suspension.