Cattle Futures Slip Amid Light Trade Activity
Weak Cash Trade and Rising Feeder Cattle Boost Market Dynamics
Live cattle futures ended Thursday slightly lower, declining by 70 cents. Cash trading has been slow this week, with minimal northern activity noted at $290 for beef. No sales were recorded for the 2,344 head available in Thursday morning’s Fed Cattle Exchange online auction from the Central Stockyards. Bids showed some improvement, ranging from $184 to $185, reflecting a rise of $1 to $2 since Wednesday. Feeder cattle continued their upward trend, gaining between 35 cents and $1.125. The CME Feeder Cattle Index rose a penny to $254.27 on November 20.
In the latest Export Sales report, a total of 14,250 metric tons (MT) of beef were sold during the week ending November 14, marking a four-week high. Notably, Japan purchased 4,300 MT, South Korea acquired 3,300 MT, and China bought 2,100 MT. Shipments for the week reached 16,333 MT, the highest total in seven weeks, with 4,900 MT sent to South Korea and 2,600 MT to Japan.
The Cattle on Feed report will be released on Friday, with October placements expected to be 3.8% higher than last year and marketings up 5.2%. The November 1 on-feed estimates are projected to be down by 0.1%.
The USDA’s wholesale Boxed Beef prices saw an increase in the Thursday afternoon report. Choice boxes rose by 40 cents to $306.79 per hundredweight (cwt), while Select boxes gained $1.93, landing at $272.92. This resulted in the Choice-Select spread narrowing to $33.87. USDA estimates indicated that Thursday’s federally inspected cattle slaughter reached 125,000 head, bringing the weekly total to 496,000 head. This figure exceeds the previous week’s slaughter by 13,000 head and is significantly above last year’s tally, attributed largely to Thanksgiving falling later this year.
Dec 24 Live Cattle closed at $185.600, down $0.700.
Feb 25 Live Cattle closed at $187.425, down $0.500.
Apr 25 Live Cattle closed at $189.525, down $0.175.
Nov 24 Feeder Cattle closed at $255.125, up $0.325.
Jan 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $253.450, up $1.125.
Mar 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $252.100, up $0.700.
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 are solely for informational purposes. For more information, please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
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