Christmas Market Update: Cattle Futures Show Mixed Results Amid Holiday Break

During the Christmas Eve session, live cattle futures experienced fluctuations, closing with contracts down 45 cents to as much as 30 cents higher. Cash trading remains on pause for the week, with bids reported at $190 in the Southern markets. Last week’s trade observed stable prices, reaching $195 to $195.50 in the North and $191 in the South. Conversely, feeder cattle futures declined on Tuesday, with contracts falling between 47 cents and $1. The CME Feeder Cattle Index also experienced a decrease, down 4 cents to $262.96 as of December 23.

The latest data indicates that beef stocks at the end of November totaled 440.5 million pounds, marking a 3.69% decrease from the previous year but a 1.8% increase from October. This represents the tightest beef stock level for November since 2014, reflecting changing market dynamics.

The USDA’s wholesale Boxed Beef report will not be published on Tuesday or Wednesday due to the Christmas holiday. However, prices were reported higher in the Monday afternoon update, with Choice boxes up 13 cents to $315.98 per hundredweight, while Select boxes increased by 84 cents to reach $286.75.

Dec 24 Live Cattle closed at $190.800, marking a decline of $0.175.

Feb 25 Live Cattle finished at $187.375, down by $0.075.

Apr 25 Live Cattle closed at $189.550, down $0.150.

Jan 25 Feeder Cattle settled at $255.850, a decrease of $0.750.

Mar 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $255.000, down $1.000.

Apr 25 Feeder Cattle ended at $255.850, a drop of $0.925.

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.

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