Live cattle futures closed lower on Wednesday, with losses ranging from 27 to 95 cents. The Central Stockyards Fed Cattle Exchange listed 2,636 head but reported no sales, with bids between $182 and $183. A few transactions at $187 ensued in the Western Corn Belt. Feeder cattle futures also fell, decreasing 70 cents to $1.62, while the CME Feeder Cattle Index rose 73 cents to $249.48.
USDA’s Wednesday PM report indicated a rise in wholesale Boxed Beef prices, with Choice boxes increasing by $1.34 to $308.18 per hundredweight and Select boxes up 2 cents to $288.63. The Choice/Select spread widened to $19.55. Estimated federally inspected cattle slaughter for the day was 125,000 head, bringing the weekly total to 359,000, which is 8,000 head less than the previous week and down 17,989 from the same week last year.
Closing prices for live and feeder cattle were as follows: Oct 24 Live Cattle at $188.200 (down $0.275), Dec 24 Live Cattle at $187.225 (down $0.650), and Oct 24 Feeder Cattle at $249.275 (down $1.050).
