Live Cattle Futures Rise, While Cash Trade Remains Limited

On Friday, live cattle futures experienced a modest rise, gaining between $1.60 and $1.65 in the front months. However, June futures saw a decline of $1.40 for the week. Cash trading was subdued during the week, with reports indicating $208 in the north and $204 in the south. In the Central Stockyards Fed Cattle Exchange on Friday morning, sales occurred on 685 out of 1,450 head offered, with prices ranging from $204 to $206 in the south.

Feeder cattle futures also concluded the Friday session positively, with contracts climbing $2.40 to $3.75. Notably, April futures increased by $5.75 this week. Despite this, the CME Feeder Cattle Index saw another decline, dropping by $1.16 on April 10, resulting in an average price of $286.13.

Managed Money Reduces Positions in Cattle Futures

As of April 8, managed money decreased their net long positions in live cattle futures and options by 24,274 contracts, bringing the total to 118,503 contracts. In the feeder cattle sector, speculative traders cut back on their net long positions, reducing them by 5,332 contracts to a total of 28,037 contracts.

USDA Reports on Boxed Beef Prices and Cattle Slaughter

The USDA’s National Wholesale Boxed Beef report, released on Friday afternoon, indicated a downturn in prices, as the Chc/Sel spread widened back to $20.26. Choice boxed beef prices fell by 7 cents to $334.22 per hundredweight, while Select prices decreased by $1 to sit at $313.96. For the week, Federally inspected cattle slaughter was estimated at 564,000 head, which was 27,000 head lower than the previous week and 33,882 head less than the same time last year.

Closing Prices for Live and Feeder Cattle

The following are the closing prices for live cattle: Apr 25 Live Cattle closed at $202.475, up $1.625; Jun 25 Live Cattle closed at $196.800, up $1.600; Aug 25 Live Cattle closed at $193.850, up $1.650.

For feeder cattle, the closing prices were: Apr 25 Feeder Cattle at $285.175, up $2.400; May 25 Feeder Cattle at $278.700, up $3.400; Aug 25 Feeder Cattle at $283.675, up $3.750.

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 here.

 

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