
Live cattle futures posted Wednesday strength of $2.20 to $3.50. Cash trade has been quiet this week, with some northern dressed action at $385 to 392, up $5-7. The Wednesday Fed Cattle Exchange online auction showed no sales on the 1,264 head, with bids of $235 in KS and $240 in IA. Feeder cattle futures left things in rally mode on Wednesday, with contracts up $5.22 to $5.70 at the close. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was back up 60 cents to $345.58 on August 19.
USDA will release Cattle on Feed data on Friday afternoon, with analysts looking for July placements at 8.9% below last year and marketings down 5.9% from 2024. August 1 on feed inventory is estimated to be down 2%.