Fat cattle futures were 25 cents to $1.05 higher across the front months. April gapped higher at the open and traded from +13 to +92 cents for the day. Short covering was noted, with preliminary open interest dropping 3,502 contracts on the day. Nearby feeders were $1.30 to $2 stronger on the day. USDA reported cash trade near $187 for Thursday citing the week’s bulk near $186-$187. The CME Feeder Cattle index for 43 was $2.17 stronger to $249.90.
The monthly Census data had Feb beef shipments at 244.1 million lbs vs 232.6m in Jan and 250.8m in Feb ’23. Accumulated shipments were at 477m lbs for the first two months.
