Cattle Round Out Wednesday on a Mixed Note
Live cattle futures posted 15 to 60 cent higher trade in the front months, with other contracts heading home lower for the midweek session. Cash trade has yet to kick off this week, with Wednesday’s Central Stockyards Fed Cattle Exchange auction showing no sales on the 2,304 head listed and bids of $187-188 in the south. Feeder cattle futures followed were down $1.50 to $2.05 in the front months. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was up 63 cents at $258.39 on July 23.
USDA wholesale Boxed Beef prices were lower in the Wednesday PM report, with Choice boxes down 53 cents at $312.68 and Select products $2.70 lower @ $293.96. The Chc/Sel spread thus widened to $18.72, with 188 loads used in the calculation. USDA estimated Wednesday FI slaughter at 122,000 head, putting the week to date at 360,000. That is even with last week and 12,352 head from a year ago.
Aug 24 Live Cattle closed at $186.900, up $0.600,
Oct 24 Live Cattle closed at $186.275, up $0.150,
Dec 24 Live Cattle closed at $187.275, down $0.125,
Aug 24 Feeder Cattle closed at $257.125, down $1.625,
Sep 24 Feeder Cattle closed at $256.700, down $1.900,
Oct 24 Feeder Cattle closed at $256.375, down $2.050,
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.