Live cattle futures rose between $2 and $2.70 on Tuesday, with August contracts reaching $185.600, while Oct and Dec contracts also saw increases. Last week’s cash sales were reported at $182-$185 in the southern U.S. and $184-$188 in the north. Cash trading has yet to commence this week.
Feeder cattle futures increased by $1.30 to $2, though August contracts dipped 37 cents ahead of expiration. The CME Feeder Cattle Index noted a rise of $1.13 to $242.83 on August 23, while the OKC Feeder Cattle Auction recorded sales of 5,908 head with moderate to good demand.
The USDA’s wholesale Boxed Beef report showed Choice boxes up 38 cents to $316.28 and Select products up $3.48 to $303.67, narrowing the Chc/Select spread to $12.61. Estimated federally inspected cattle slaughter for Monday was 116,000 head, down 1,000 from the previous week.
