Live cattle futures increased by $1.70 to $2.42 on Friday, with cash trade prices recorded between $233-234 live and $365 dressed. The Fed Cattle Exchange auction on Wednesday reported 494 out of 1,228 head sold at $234-236.50, with feeder cattle futures up 57 cents to $1.575.
USDA announced that beef export sales for the week ending January 15 reached 15,488 metric tons (MT), while shipments totaled 15,855 MT. The monthly Cattle on Feed report is expected to reveal a 6.5% decrease in December placements and a 1.5% annual increase in marketing, with a projected 3.2% drop in on-feed inventory as of January 1.
In additional data, USDA’s Boxed Beef report noted a widening spread to $7.40 between Choice and Select cuts, with Choice increasing by $1.25 to $368.70, and Select decreasing by $0.43 to $361.30. Thursday’s federally inspected cattle slaughter was estimated at 114,000 head, leading to a weekly total of 447,000, which is 32,000 head below last week and 33,988 head less than the same week last year.
