On Wednesday, live cattle futures rose by 82 cents to $1.22, with cash trades reported at $229 but lacking sufficient volume for a trend. The Fed Cattle Exchange recorded dressed sales ranging from $230.5 to $232 for 599 out of 1,198 head offered. Feeder cattle futures also saw gains, closing up 70 to 80 cents, with CME’s Feeder Cattle Index rising to $348.44 as of December 30.
As of December 23, spec traders held a net long position of 94,868 contracts in live cattle, increasing by 3,565 contracts over the week. The USDA reported a cattle slaughter estimate of 85,000 head on Wednesday, bringing the total for the week to 325,000 head. Additionally, total beef export sales for the week ending December 18 were recorded at 2,117 Metric Tons (MT) for 2025 and 9,439 MT for 2026, with shipments reaching a four-week high of 17,108 MT.
