Live cattle futures closed on Monday with gains ranging from $1 to $1.40. This week, cash trade remains inactive, but last week saw Southern trades closing at $212-213 and Northern trades reaching up to $217-218.

Feeder cattle futures also showed improvement, closing up 50 cents to $1.275 for nearby contracts. The CME Feeder Cattle Index increased by $3.83 on April 25, bringing the average price to $291.71. The weekly Oklahoma City feeder cattle auction estimates around 5,000 head available for sale, slightly below the same week last year. Notably, steers increased by $5-10, while heifers rose by $5-13 compared to last week.

In regulatory news, USDA Secretary Rollins sent a warning letter to Mexico’s government, threatening to restrict live animal imports to the U.S. if full cooperation isn’t achieved in controlling the spread of New World Screw-worm. The deadline for requested changes is April 30.

According to the USDA’s National Wholesale Boxed Beef report released Monday afternoon, prices rose, with the Choice/Select spread widening to $17.65. Choice boxed beef increased by $6.29 to $342.77 per hundredweight, while Select rose by $5.01, reaching $325.12. The estimated federally inspected cattle slaughter for Monday was 104,000 head, falling 1,000 head below the prior Monday and down 5,648 head from the same week last year.

Apr 25 Live Cattle closed at $215.650, up $1.400,

Jun 25 Live Cattle closed at $209.600, up $1.350,

Aug 25 Live Cattle closed at $205.325, up $1.225,

May 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $291.800, up $1.275,

Aug 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $294.950, up $0.650,

Sep 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $294.075, up $0.525.

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.

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