Live Cattle Futures Rise Amid Increased Beef Demand

Live cattle futures have gained between $1.75 and $2.00 at midday on Thursday. The cash market remains subdued this week, with only a few light sales reported at $200 in Kansas on Wednesday. In tandem, feeder cattle prices increased by $1.20 to $1.92.

The CME Feeder Cattle Index reported an uptick of $2.17 on March 11, bringing the average price to $278.71. This reflects ongoing strength in the feeder cattle segment.

USDA Export Sales Report Shows Improved Beef Bookings

According to the USDA’s Export Sales report, beef bookings for the week of March 6 reached 14,331 metric tons (MT), marking an increase from the prior week. Japan emerged as the largest buyer with 4,600 MT purchased, followed by South Korea with 3,000 MT and China with 2,500 MT. Notably, shipments hit a five-week high of 15,930 MT, with South Korea and Japan each receiving 4,400 MT, alongside China’s 2,500 MT allocation.

National Wholesale Boxed Beef Prices Update

The Thursday morning National Wholesale Boxed Beef report indicated a mixed pricing environment. The Choice/Select cash market narrowed to $14.79, while Choice boxes increased by 89 cents to $321.99 per hundredweight (cwt). Conversely, Select boxes dropped by 33 cents to a price of $307.20. On Wednesday, the USDA estimated the federally inspected cattle slaughter at 123,000 head, bringing the weekly total to 362,000 head. This figure is 17,000 head higher than the previous week and 12,422 head more than the same week last year.

Current Cattle Futures Prices

April 25 Live Cattle are priced at $203.40, an increase of $2.00.

June 25 Live Cattle are at $199.825, up $1.95.

August 25 Live Cattle are listed at $197.325, rising by $1.775.

March 25 Feeder Cattle stand at $281.775, up $1.525.

April 25 Feeder Cattle are at $281.925, seeing an increase of $1.200.

May 25 Feeder Cattle are priced at $283.800, up $1.925.

On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not hold (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data are provided for informational purposes only. For more details, please review the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.

The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.