Live cattle futures posted Thursday gains of $1.75 to $2.50 at the close. Cash trade kicked off on Thursday with some light action at $220 in the north. Sothern action has been limited to bids of $218. Feeder cattle futures extended the bounce back to Thursday, with contracts $3 to $4.75 higher. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was up another $4.02 to $341.80 on December 3.
Export Sales data for the week ending on October 30 showed 14,499 MT of beef sales in that week, a 4-week high. Shipments were an 8 week low of 10,249 MT.
