diff --git a/src/pair_lj96_cut.cpp b/src/pair_lj96_cut.cpp
index bd3ce5f7eb..02e542965e 100644
--- a/src/pair_lj96_cut.cpp
+++ b/src/pair_lj96_cut.cpp
@@ -456,7 +456,7 @@ void PairLJ96Cut::settings(int narg, char **arg)
 {
   if (narg != 1) error->all("Illegal pair_style command");
 
-  cut_global = atof(arg[0]);
+  cut_global = force->numeric(arg[0]);
 
   // reset cutoffs that have been explicitly set