Cattle Looks to Round Out week as Cash Strengthens
Live cattle futures saw gains of $1.60 to $2.075 on Thursday. Preliminary open interest rose another 3,745 contracts. Cash trade showed sales at $221-223 in the South on Thursday, with business at $234-235 in the North. Thursday morning’s Fed Cattle Exchange online auction showed sales at $222-225.50 on 773 of the 1,546 head offered. Feeder cattle futures got a Thursday bouncing back, up $4.25 to $4.40. Preliminary open interest was up 1,650 contracts. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was back up $1.91 on May 28 with an average price of $297.75.
USDA’s National Wholesale Boxed Beef report was higher on Thursday afternoon, with the Chc/Sel spread at $12.45. Choice boxes were up 67 cents at $366.09, while Select was quoted $1.90 higher at $353.64/cwt. USDA’s Federally inspected cattle slaughter for Thursday was 120,000 head, with the weekly total at 355,000 head. That is down 18,778 head from the same holiday week last year.
Jun 25 Live Cattle closed at $215.525, up $1.600,
Aug 25 Live Cattle closed at $210.075, up $1.900,
Oct 25 Live Cattle closed at $208.150, up $2.075,
Aug 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $299.925, up $4.300,
Sep 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $298.850, up $4.375,
Oct 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $296.775, up $4.250,
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.