Cattle Rallying on Tuesday
Live cattle futures are posting gains of $1.45 to $2.10 on the day. Cash trade settled in last week around $191 in the South and $191-192 in the North, which was a $1-2 improvement from the previous week. There was some $191 trade reported in KS on Monday. There were no deliveries issued against December live cattle on first notice day.
Feeder cattle are posting $1.57 to $2.15 gains at midday. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was up another 42 cents from the day prior at $262.25 on December 6. The weekly OKC feeder cattle auction has an estimated 13,234 head for sale for today, which is well above last week and the same week last year. Price action was down $3-9 for feeder steers and steady to $2-7 lower for feeder heifers, with calves down $10-15.
USDA wholesale Boxed Beef prices were back lower in the Tuesday AM report. Choice boxes were down $2.17 to $311.97/cwt, with Select 4 cents lower @ $279.30. USDA estimated Monday’s federally inspected cattle slaughter at 119,000 head. That was 2,000 head above the previous Monday but down 6,212 from the same week last year.
Dec 24 Live Cattle are at $189.900, up $2.100,
Feb 25 Live Cattle are at $188.950, up $1.925,
Apr 25 Live Cattle are at $190.400, up $1.450,
Jan 25 Feeder Cattle are at $257.375, up $1.575
Mar 25 Feeder Cattle are at $257.350, up $2.150
Apr 25 Feeder Cattle are at $258.375, up $2.125
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.