Live cattle futures saw a mixed Friday close, as contracts were steady to 25 cents lower and deferreds up 40 to 50 cents. October was down $1.77 this week. Cash trade settled in at $235 in the North this week, $3 lower, with Southern action at $235-237, down $3. The Friday Fed Cattle Exchange online auction showed no sales on the 2,144 head offered, with bids at $235-235.50. Feeder cattle futures posted gains of $1.50 to $2.95 on Friday, as October was still up $2.90 this week. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was up 94 cents at $365.04 on September 25.
The weekly Commitment of Traders report from CFTC showed spec traders in live cattle futures and options trimming back their net long position by 2,844 contracts to 124,903 contracts as of Tuesday. In feeder cattle, the net long position continues to dwindle down, this week by 1,564 contracts to 24,327 contracts, as the number of outright longs dropped to the lowest since April, with the number of outright shorts the highest since last November.
