Live cattle futures posted gains of 77 cent to $1.125 at the close, with August 7 cents lower. Cash trade has picked up a few at $355-360 dressed and $226. The Thursday morning Fed Cattle Exchange online auction showed no sales on the 1,520 head offered, with bids of $223 to 225. Feeder cattle futures were down $1.55 to $2.12 higher across the board. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was down another 51 cents on August 19 to $341.85.
Export Sales data from USDA showed beef sales for 2026 at 9,299 MT for the week ending on 8/13. That was a 5-week low. Mexico was the buyer of 1,600 MT, with 1,400 MT to South Korea. Shipments were tallied at 12,646 MT, which was a 6-week high. South Korea was the destination of 3,600 MT, with 3,200 MT headed to Japan.
