Live Cattle Futures See Moderate Gains Amid Quiet Cash Trade

Live cattle futures experienced slight gains on Monday, rising between 30 to 70 cents. Cash trading has been relatively quiet, as participants focused on compiling showlists. Last week, cash prices were reported at $196-198 in the Southern region, while Northern trade reached $200-202, a steady increase of $2 week-over-week. In the feeder cattle market, prices closed mixed, with contracts moving up 35 cents or down 25 cents. The CME Feeder Cattle Index noted an increase of 18 cents on March 7, averaging $273.95.

In terms of auction activity, the Oklahoma City (OKC) feeder cattle auction had an estimated 5,000 head on offer, nearly half of last week’s total and slightly less than the previous year at this time. Feeder steers recorded an uptick of $5-10, while heifers rose by $3-8. Additionally, lighter weight steers increased by $5-15, with heifer prices steady.

Wholesale Boxed Beef Prices and Slaughter Estimates

On Monday afternoon, National Wholesale Boxed Beef prices showed improvement. The Choice/Select spread stood at $10.63, with Choice boxes increasing by $2.68 to $317.58 per hundredweight and Select boxes rising $1.15 to $306.95. The USDA estimated Monday’s federally inspected cattle slaughter at 115,000 head, surpassing last week’s figures by 13,000 head and exceeding the same week last year by 3,088 head.

Recent Live and Feeder Cattle Prices

As of April 25, the closing prices for live cattle futures were as follows:

• Apr 25 Live Cattle closed at $200.575, up $0.300
• Jun 25 Live Cattle closed at $197.225, up $0.750
• Aug 25 Live Cattle closed at $195.100, up $0.750

For feeder cattle, recent closing prices are:

• Mar 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $277.050, up $0.075
• Apr 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $277.925, down $0.225
• May 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $278.550, up $0.350

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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