Live cattle futures increased between $2.20 and $2.80 by Tuesday’s close, while cash trade reported $372 dressed, a drop from $380 the previous week, and $240 for live cattle. Feeder cattle futures also rose, with contracts gaining $2.70 to $3.55. The CME Feeder Cattle Index decreased by $0.62 to $365.77 on March 9.
Wholesale boxed beef prices saw a rise, with Choice boxes up $3.38 to $394.67 and Select boxes up $3.15 to $386.77. The USDA reported a federally inspected cattle slaughter of 108,000 head for Tuesday, totaling 211,000 head for the week, which matches last week’s figures but is down 28,002 head compared to the same week last year.
