Cattle Mostly Higher at Midday
Live cattle futures are trading with contracts 55 to 80 cents higher at midday. Cash trade has yet to see a broad test this week, with some light $219 KS sales reported on Monday. The Wednesday morning Fed Cattle Exchange online auction from Central Stockyards showed no sales on the 1,298 head, with bids of $216 to 217. Feeder cattle futures are 60 to 70 cents lower at midday with May up 37 cents. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was down another $1.53 on May 19 with an average price at $297.33.
USDA’s National Wholesale Boxed Beef report was higher on Wednesday morning, with the Chc/Sel spread narrowing to $10.44. Choice boxes were up 71 cents at $359.46, while Select was quoted $4.06 at $349.02 per hundred pounds. USDA’s Federally inspected cattle slaughter for Tuesday was estimated at 120,000 head, taking the weekly total to 235,000 head. That is up 15,000 head from the week prior but down 807 head from the same week last year.
Jun 25 Live Cattle are at $213.975, up $0.800,
Aug 25 Live Cattle are at $208.425, up $0.575,
Oct 25 Live Cattle are at $205.975, up $0.675,
May 25 Feeder Cattle are at $296.375, up $0.375
Aug 25 Feeder Cattle are at $296.825, down $0.675
Sep 25 Feeder Cattle are at $295.525, down $0.675
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.