Mixed Midday in Cattle Market
Live cattle futures are trading 40 to 95 cents lower so far through midday, while the nearby feeder cattle futures are up by as much as 95 cents. There are still no deliveries issued against Feb cattle, as CME confirmed the oldest dated long is now 10/20. USDA reported Friday cash trade from $179 to $183, citing a mostly $2-$4 increase for NE with the bulk at $180. USDA reported decent demand for the OKC feeder cattle auction, noting that 50% of the listing was heifers. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was $1.49 higher on 2/7, now at $242.11.
USDA’s Wholesale Boxed Beef prices increased by 89 cents in Choice and by $1.58 in Select for the Monday morning update. The weekly beef output was cited at 519.9 million lbs with 622k head harvested. That compares to a 536.8m lb output off 367k head last week and was 0.6% higher on a 1% lower slaughter versus the same week last year.
Feb 24 Cattle are at $183.875, down $0.750,
April 24 Cattle are at $185.600, down $1.125,
Jun 24 Cattle are at $183.050, down $0.925,
Cash Cattle Index was $178.740, from $178.74 last week
Mar 24 Feeder Cattle are at $247.900, up $0.750
April 24 Feeder Cattle are at $251.925, up $0.150
On the date of publication, Alan Brugler did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.