Fat Cattle Follow Feeder’s Lead on Friday
Live cattle futures were mixed on the Friday session, with nearby Dec down a tick and other contracts up a tick to 75 cents. December was up $1.20 on the week and $1.67 on the month. Cash trade was reported this week with $188-190 sales in the South and $190-192 in the North. Feeder cattle were up 70 cents to $2.025 across the board, with Jan up $5.17 this week and $18.15 this month. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was back down 74 cents at $255.20 on November 27.
Export Sales data showed 4,846 MT of 2024 beef sold in the week that ended on November 21, a calendar year low. Another 5,042 MT was sold for 2025 shipment. Shipments totaled 14,536 MT, a 3-week high. The largest destination was South Korea at 4,900 MT, with Japan buying 3,300 MT.
USDA wholesale Boxed Beef prices were back lower in the Friday PM report. Choice boxes were down 74 cents to $310.52 /cwt, with Select steady @ $274.30. The Chc/Sel spread narrowed to $36.22. USDA estimated the Friday federally inspected cattle slaughter at 117,000 head, with the weekly total at 528,000 head through Saturday.
Dec 24 Live Cattle closed at $187.975, down $0.025,
Feb 25 Live Cattle closed at $188.625, up $0.025,
Apr 25 Live Cattle closed at $190.775, up $0.350,
Jan 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $259.475, up $0.700,
Mar 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $258.625, up $1.325,
Apr 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $259.625, up $1.225,
On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder 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.