Live cattle futures are down $1.85 to $2.10 at midday. A few cash sales in the north have been reported at $215-220 this week, with most on the higher side of that range, and $224 in the South. The Thursday morning Fed Cattle Exchange online auction showed $340 dressed sales on 40 head of the 1,748 head offered and bids of $220-223.50 live. Feeder cattle futures are down $4.50 to $5.50 across most contracts on Thursday as the pressure continues. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was back up 56 cents to $340.02 on November 18.
Beef export sales totaled 18,846 MT in the week ending on 10-2, the 4th largest total for the year. Shipments were tallied at 12,995 MT.
