Cattle Close Out Mixed on Wednesday
Live cattle trade on Wednesday showed early signs of strength, but faded into the close. Contracts settled with steady to 52 cent loses. There were no deliveries issued against February live cattle on Wednesday, with the oldest long from May 29. Initial cash action saw cattle exchange hands at $203 in the South on Tuesday, down $3 from the previous week. The rest of the country has been quiet, with bids of $202-203 in the North. The Central Stockyards Fed Cattle Exchange online auction showed sales on 2 lots of the 1,374 head, at $203 in TX. Feeder cattle futures hung on into Wednesdays close to post 7 ti 27 cent gains in the front months. CME’s Feeder Cattle Index was down 12 cents from the day prior on February 11 to $275.73.
USDA’s National Boxed Beef report from this afternoon showed beef prices again falling lower, with the Chc/Sel spread at $10.12. Choice boxes fell $3.20 to $319.26/cwt, with Select losing $3.07 at $309.14. Wednesday’s Federally inspected cattle slaughter was estimated at 120,000 head by the USDA. That took the week to date total to 337,000 head, down 21,000 head from last week and 25,307 head below the same week last year.
Feb 25 Live Cattle closed at $199.150, down $0.525,
Apr 25 Live Cattle closed at $195.725, down $0.275,
Jun 25 Live Cattle closed at $191.375, unch,
Mar 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $264.975, up $0.200,
Apr 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $265.250, up $0.275,
May 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $263.750, up $0.075,
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.