Live cattle futures started out Monday with a gap higher and closed with gains of $1.40 to $1.87 on the session. Cash activity settled in at $230-232 in the South last week, with $240-245 in the North. Feeder cattle futures closed out Monday with $2.15 to $2.35 gains in the nearbys. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was back up $1.10 to $329.93 on July 25. The Monday OKC feeder cattle auction had 2,972 head for sale, with action listed as $8-13 higher for steers and heifers $10-20 higher.
Cattle on Feed data showed June placements down 7.86% from last year at 1.411 million head and well below estimates. Marketings were 1.707 million head and 4.42% below June 2024. July 1 on feed was tallied at 11.124 million head, down 1.24% from a year ago. The bi-annual July Cattle Inventory report was released after a hiatus last year, with July 1 beef cow inventory down 1.2% from 2023 at 28.65 million head. Beef replacement heifers were 5.1% below 2023 at 3.7 million head.
