Cattle Look to Round Out the Week
Live cattle felt weaker on Thursday, as contracts were down 45 to 90 cents across the board on the day. Cash trade has been slow to develop this week, with the Central Stockyards Fed Cattle Exchange selling 374 of the 1,890 head for an average of $185. Feeders ended the session with contracts 60 cents to $1.55 lower. The CME Feeder Cattle index was down another 8 cents on May 7 to $240.38.
Export Sales data showed just 12,337 MT of beef was sold in the week ending on 5/2, dropping to a 7-week low. Export shipments were tallied at 16,241 MT, a 3-week high. That sets up an interesting dynamic for next week, when retailers will be filling the pipeline for Memorial Day sales.
USDA’s Wholesale Boxed Beef prices were lower in the Thursday PM report. Choice boxes were down $1.28 at $295.39, with Select $2.49 lower to $285.76. That raised the Chc/Sel spread to $9.63. USDA estimated federally inspected cattle slaughter on Thursday at 122,000 head, taking the weekly total to 489,000 head. That is 9,000 head above last week but down 16,363 head from the same week last year.
Jun 24 Live Cattle closed at $175.950, down $0.525,
Aug 24 Live Cattle closed at $173.725, down $0.500,
Oct 24 Live Cattle closed at $177.000, down $0.450,
May 24 Feeder Cattle closed at $238.650, down $1.550,
Aug 24 Feeder Cattle closed at $251.050, down $1.350,
Sep 24 Feeder Cattle closed at $252.075, down $1.325,
On the date of publication, Alan Brugler 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.