On April 26, live cattle futures experienced gains of 40 cents to $1.07, closing at $244.050 for April contracts and $244.350 for June contracts. In contrast, feeder cattle futures rose between $1.52 to $2.75, with April futures closing at $370.750. The CME Feeder Cattle Index increased by 89 cents to $366.82. Despite these gains, cash trade remains stagnant with last week’s prices settling between $234-235.
The Wednesday morning Fed Cattle exchange recorded no sales from the 1,016 head offered and noted limited bids at $238. USDA estimated a cattle slaughter of 107,000 head for Wednesday, bringing the weekly total to 324,000 head, 9,000 head higher than the previous week but 45,169 head lower than the same week last year. Boxed beef prices were also lower, with Choice boxes down $1.07 to $394.42 and Select down 34 cents to $392.59. The markets will close for Good Friday on Thursday.
