Live cattle futures fell $3.35 to $5.95 lower into the Thursday close. Cash trade has been limited so far this week with a few $260 sales in KS and $265 in the North. The Thursday Fed Cattle Exchange online auction showed no sales on the 652 head offered, with bids of $260. Feeder cattle futures were down $1.60 in the expiring May contract, with the rest of the board down $8.75 to the $9.25 limit. Feeders will have expanded limits of $13.75 on Friday, with expanded live cattle limits of $10.75. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was down $1.72 to $370.72 on May 20.
The Tuesday APHIS update on the New World Screwworm showed a total of 2,014 active cases of in Mexico as of Wednesday. There were 150 active cases in the bordering state of Tamaulipas (8 within a range of 82-96 miles of the US border), 94 active in Nuevo Leon (14 within a range of 57-99 miles of the US border), and 15 in Coahuila (1 within 72 miles of the US border).