Live cattle futures saw a mixed Friday close, as contracts were steady to 25 cents lower and deferreds up 40 to 50 cents. October was down $1.77 last week. Cash trade settled in at $235 in the North last week, $3 lower, with Southern action at $235-237, down $3. The Friday Fed Cattle Exchange online auction showed no sales on the 2,144 head offered, with bids at $235-235.50. Feeder cattle futures posted gains of $1.50 to $2.95 on Friday, as October was still up $2.90 last week. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was up 94 cents at $365.04 on September 25.
USDA’s Cold Storage report from Friday showed beef stocks on August 31 at 393,802 million lbs. That was a 1.01% drop from July but was 1.52% above the same period last year.
