Live cattle futures closed the Wednesday session with contracts up 47 cents to $1.10. Cash trade has been quiet so far this week. The Wednesday Fed Cattle Exchange online auction showed no sales on the 1,508 head offered, with bids of $217.5-220 live and $325-326 in the beef. Feeder cattle futures continued to rally back, with gains of $1.50 to $2, though futures did slip from the highs. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was up $5.42 to $337.78 on December 2.
USDA reported Wholesale Boxed Beef prices mixed in the Wednesday PM report, with the Chc/Sel spread narrowing down to $10.69. Choice boxes were down 91 cents to $363.81, while Select was back up $2.34 at $353.12. USDA federally inspected cattle slaughter was estimated at 117,000 head for Wednesday, with the weekly total at 354,000. That was 15,000 head below last week and 12,727 head shy of the same week last year.
Dec 25 Live Cattle closed at $218.950, up $0.475,
Feb 26 Live Cattle closed at $221.900, up $1.100,
Apr 26 Live Cattle closed at $223.400, up $0.975,
Jan 26 Feeder Cattle closed at $331.850, up $1.975,
Mar 26 Feeder Cattle closed at $325.800, up $1.875,
Apr 26 Feeder Cattle closed at $325.175, up $1.875,
