Live cattle futures increased by $1.85 to $2.20 on Monday, with cash trade last week showing sales of $230-232 in the North and $222-224 in the South, reaching $225 late in the week. Feeder cattle futures rose by $4.15 to $4.25. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was reported at $312.04 on July 4, up 8 cents.
According to CFTC data, spec funds reduced their net long in live cattle futures options by 3,431 contracts to a total of 129,462 contracts, while managed money cut back their net long in feeder cattle by 1,620 contracts to 33,886 contracts. USDA reported an estimated cattle slaughter of 114,000 head on Monday, which is 4,000 head below last week but 1,934 head above the same day last year.
Key closing prices for August 25 include: Live Cattle at $215.90 (up $1.85), Feeder Cattle at $313.73 (up $4.23), and further contracts showed similar increases.
