Cattle Mixed on Thursday Trade

Live cattle started the day out weaker, but have recovered somewhat at midday, with action mixed. Nearby futures are steady to 27 cents higher, with other contracts down 20 to 52 cents. Cash trade has yet to kick off this week, with this morning’s Fed Cattle Exchange online auction showing no sales on the 1,502 head listed, with bids ranging from $181-182 and asks in the $184-185 range. Feeders are mixed as well, with May up 57 cents and others down 15 to 40 cents. The CME Feeder Cattle index on April 9th was down another 34 cents to $245.49. 

Weekly Export data showed a drop from last week at 13,637 MT for the week that ended on 4/4. Shipments were tallied at 13,859 MT, an increase from the week prior.

USDA’s Wholesale Boxed Beef prices were back higher in the Thursday AM report. Choice was up 42 cents to $298.65, with Select $1.11 higher at $27.13. The Chc/Sel spread is still unseasonably tight at just $1.52. Estimated cattle slaughter was pegged at 112,000 head for Tuesday by the USDA, taking the week to date total to 358,000 head. That was a 6,000 head increase from the previous week and is now down 2,701 head from the same week last year. 

Apr 24 Live Cattle  are at $179.350, up $0.275,

Jun 24 Live Cattle  are at $173.075, up $0.225,

Aug 24 Live Cattle  are at $170.500, down $0.150,

Apr 24 Feeder Cattle  are at $237.875, down $0.400

May 24 Feeder Cattle  are at $237.100, up $0.575

Aug 24 Feeder Cattle  are at $247.450, down $0.150

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.