Live Cattle Futures Show Gains Amid Mixed Feeder Market

Live cattle futures are experiencing gains on Monday, with contracts rising between 65 and 90 cents. Recent cash trading, from the previous week, revealed Southern sales positioned between $218 and $220, remaining steady, while Northern prices reached $229. Midday activity in feeder cattle futures shows a mixed scenario: the nearby May contract is down 22 cents, while other contracts are up by 10 to 22 cents. As of May 15, the CME Feeder Cattle Index declined by $1.38, resulting in an average price of $300.79. The upcoming weekly OKC feeder cattle auction is expected to offer around 9,400 head, with a lower undertone noted early.

According to Friday’s CFTC report, speculators have increased their net long position in live cattle futures and options by a total of 2,257 contracts. On May 13, their net long hit 135,594 contracts. In the feeder cattle sector, managed money added 2,773 contracts, approaching their previous record with a total of 32,215 contracts.

USDA’s National Wholesale Boxed Beef report released Monday morning indicates a higher trend. The Choice/Select spread has tightened to $9.33, with Choice boxes up $1.40 to $353.89. In contrast, Select boxes increased by $2.17, reaching $344.56 per hundred pounds. The USDA reported last week’s federally inspected cattle slaughter at 566,000 head, which is a 7,000 head increase from the prior week but down 30,918 head compared to the same week last year.

Jun 25 Live Cattle are priced at $212.875, up $0.650.

Aug 25 Live Cattle are priced at $207.650, up $0.900.

Oct 25 Live Cattle are priced at $204.850, up $0.875.

May 25 Feeder Cattle are priced at $296.625, down $0.225.

Aug 25 Feeder Cattle are priced at $297.700, up $0.100.

Sep 25 Feeder Cattle are priced at $296.500, up $0.225.

On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not hold positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information in this article is for informational purposes only. For more information, please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy.

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