Cattle See Mixed Tuesday Action
Live cattle futures closed the Tuesday session mixed, with contracts down 22 cents and some back months up 35 cents. Cash action was at $191-192 trade in the South last week, with trade up to $195-196 in the North. No trade was reported on Monday, with most compiling showlists. There were no deliveries issued against December live cattle on Tuesday.
Feeder cattle futures rallied on Tuesday with contracts up $1.90 to $2.15. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was back up 81 cents from the day prior at $261.54 on December 16. The weekly OKC feeder cattle auction showed 7,342 head for Monday’s sale. Sales were $5-10 higher for feeder steers, with calves $8-13 higher. Feeder heifers and heifer calves were steady.
USDA wholesale Boxed Beef prices were back lower in the Tuesday afternoon report. Choice boxes were down $1.74 to $315.63/cwt, with Select $1.07 lower @ $288.50. USDA estimated Tuesday’s federally inspected cattle slaughter at 123,000 head, taking the week to date total to 241,000 head. That is 2,000 head above the previous week but down 6,465 from the same week last year.
Dec 24 Live Cattle closed at $192.250, up $0.225,
Feb 25 Live Cattle closed at $189.750, down $0.225,
Apr 25 Live Cattle closed at $191.575, down $0.175,
Jan 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $257.475, up $1.925,
Mar 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $258.275, up $1.900,
Apr 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $259.375, up $1.950,
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.