Recommended Free Tools
LE is the CME Group product code for Live Cattle futures. A quote is a futures price for a particular contract month—not a local cash cattle price—and it should be read with its timestamp and delay status. The latest dated example available here is a delayed quote of 221.60 U.S. cents per pound displayed on October 7, 2026; it is not a verified price for October 8.
What does LE mean?
LE is the CME Group product code for Live Cattle futures. Each contract represents 40,000 pounds of cattle, prices are quoted in U.S. cents per pound, and the contract is deliverable. CME lists February, April, June, August, October, and December contract months. Trading ends at noon Central Time on the last business day of the contract month. See CME’s Live Cattle contract specifications.
A price screen may show several LE contracts at once. Each price belongs to a specific delivery month, so identify that month before comparing quotes. Futures prices are used for price discovery and managing price risk; they are not interchangeable with local cash prices, which reflect physical cattle transactions in a particular market. CME’s Live Cattle product page provides market information and related tools.
Latest dated price snapshot
Farmbucks displayed 221.60 cents per pound for its selected CME LE contract on October 7, 2026. The page showed a prior settlement of 221.23 cents per pound, an October 30, 2026 expiry, and CME data delayed by 10 minutes. When accessed on October 8, it marked the quote as updated 12 hours earlier. These details describe that page’s historical snapshot, not a live quote or a verified October 8 market price. See the Farmbucks Live Cattle quote page.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
#1 Best Overall
- Used Book in Good Condition
For a useful comparison, match the contract month, quote type, and timestamp: compare settlement with settlement or live quote with live quote, and note whether the feed is delayed. A number without those details can be misleading, especially when one screen shows a different delivery month or a stale update.
How the quote translates into contract value
The quoted price is in cents per pound, while the contract covers 40,000 pounds. To illustrate the arithmetic, 221.60 cents per pound equals $2.216 per pound; multiplying by 40,000 pounds gives a notional contract value of $88,640. This is a conversion of the dated quote, not a prediction of profit, a cash cattle price, or the amount a trader must pay to enter a futures position.
CME specifies a minimum price fluctuation of 0.00025 per pound, worth $10 per contract. In other words, the smallest listed price increment changes the contract’s value by $10, based on 40,000 pounds. The contract’s size and deliverable settlement mean a futures position has meaningful exposure; the quote alone does not describe the margin, costs, or risk for any particular account.
What may be influencing the cattle market?
USDA Economic Research Service’s market outlook, updated September 18, 2026, said fed cattle slaughter remained historically low, contributing to lower beef production forecasts for 2026 and 2027. It also reported that cattle prices had continued to decline from spring highs, lowering price expectations through the following year. The outlook anticipated that expanded tariff-free quota for lean beef from September through November would boost U.S. imports in late 2026, while beef export projections were raised slightly for both 2026 and 2027. These are national outlook factors, not a definitive explanation for any one LE session or a guarantee of future prices. See USDA ERS Cattle & Beef Market Outlook.
Windows Errors? Fix Them Before They Spread
Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallOutdated Drivers Are Slowing You Down
One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchHow LE settlements are used in cattle risk management
LE settlements also appear in government-backed producer risk-management calculations. USDA Risk Management Agency’s April 2026 2027 LGM-Cattle endorsement says actual cattle prices for listed insurance months use averages of final CME Live Cattle daily settlements for the relevant futures month on specified observation dates. Its August 2026 example uses the August 5, 6, and 7 settlements. This shows one documented use of the settlement series; it does not mean a futures position or insurance product is suitable for every producer. See the USDA RMA 2027 LGM-Cattle endorsement.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Used Book in Good Condition
Rank #4
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
