Live cattle futures extended the push through Wednesday and closed near the highs for the day – now 38.2% of the way back up from contract highs to their Dec lows. Cash sales were light on Wednesday near $174. Feeder cattle futures were also firmer on Wednesday, but finished off their session highs on 12 to 85 cent gains. USDA’s OKC feeder cattle auction review showed the 5,836 head sold were mostly $3-$4 higher. The CME Feeder Cattle Index dropped $8.26 to $230.21 on 1/23.
NASS Cold Storage data released Wednesday afternoon had 485.127m lbs of beef in storage on December 31. That was 6% more than November, but was 11% tighter than Dec ’22.
