Live cattle futures experienced significant declines on Thursday, falling by $4 to $4.60. On August 9, there were no deliveries against August futures, while cash trade in the North reported sales between $228 and $230. The Fed Cattle Exchange auction on Wednesday did not yield any sales from the 1,308 head offered.
On the feeder cattle side, futures dropped $2.70 to $3.75 across various contracts. The CME Feeder Cattle Index rose $1.15 to $355.37. USDA’s export sales data revealed that beef sales for 2026 reached 14,426 MT for the week ending August 6, a three-week low, with shipments at 11,420 MT, marking a four-week low.
In terms of slaughter numbers, USDA estimated Wednesday’s federally inspected cattle slaughter at 106,000 head, bringing the weekly total to 310,000 head — an increase of 4,000 head from the previous week but 25,148 head fewer than the same week last year. Boxed beef prices rose, with Choice boxes up $4.21 at $376.49 and Select up $1.34 to $351.15.
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