Live cattle futures closed with gains ranging from 75 cents to $1.32 on Wednesday, despite being weaker late in the day. A total of 20 deliveries were tendered, while cash trade remained quiet with bids in the north reported at $245 and light sales ranging from $240 to $242 in Kansas. The Fed Cattle Exchange online auction listed 940 head with no bids reported.
The USDA reported that Wholesale Boxed Beef prices weakened, with Choice boxes down $1.33 to $411.84 and Select boxes down $3.05 to $387.71. For Wednesday, the estimated cattle slaughter was 119,000 head, bringing this week’s total to 344,000 head—up 10,000 from last week but down 14,906 from the same week in 2024.
Live Cattle futures on August 25 closed at $243.250, up 75 cents, while Feeder Cattle closed at $365.450, up $2.225.
