Live Cattle Futures Steady as Prices Show Mixed Trends

Live cattle futures ended Tuesday with contracts remaining mostly unchanged, with nearest contracts fluctuating within a nickel. The cash market concluded last week with prices ranging from $218 to $220 in the South and $225 to $228 in the North. Meanwhile, feeder cattle futures finished the day with a decline of 5 to 40 cents. The CME Feeder Cattle Index increased by $1.37 on May 12, averaging $302.40. On Monday, the OKC Feeder Cattle auction reported sales of 6,387 head, with prices for feeders rising by $2 to $6.

On Tuesday afternoon, the USDA’s National Wholesale Boxed Beef prices were mixed. The Choice/Select spread stood at $15.63, with Choice boxes increasing by $1.96 to $350.10, while Select boxes dropped by 76 cents to $334.47 per hundred pounds. Notably, this marks a record high for Choice prices, excluding the spike observed during the COVID peak in 2020. The USDA estimated federally inspected cattle slaughter at 121,000 head for Tuesday, bringing the weekly total to 220,000 head. This figure is down 10,000 head from the previous week and 18,681 head from the same week last year.

Jun 25 Live Cattle closed at $216.325, down $0.500.

Aug 25 Live Cattle closed at $211.625, up $0.025.

Oct 25 Live Cattle closed at $208.450, unchanged.

May 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $302.825, down $0.275.

Aug 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $306.000, down $0.375.

Sep 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $305.050, down $0.050.

On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information, please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy
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