Live cattle were steady to $1.40 higher on Thursday, with December down a dime. Open interest was down 503 contracts on Thursday. Cash trade saw some very light volume $260 live and $408 dressed in the north on Wednesday, with a few bids at $255 on Thursday. The Thursday morning, Fed Cattle Exchange online auction showed no sales on the 1,636 head offered, with no bids listed. Feeder cattle futures were 37 to 85 cents higher at the close. Open interest rose 1,292 contracts on Thursday. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was up $6.03 on June 24 to $381.86.
Weekly Export Sales data showed 21,268 MT of beef sold for 2026 in the week ending on June 18, the second largest weekly this year. Shipments were pegged at 13,048 MT, back up from the week prior.
