Live cattle futures were down 90 cent to $1.50 across the front months on Friday, as April was still $1.37 higher last week. Open interest was up 2,730 contracts on Friday. Cash trade was limited, with some $245-247 in the North and some southern trade up to $249. Feeder cattle futures were under pressure on Friday, with contracts down $2.25 to $2.60 at the close, as March was still $1.87 higher on the week. OI slipped 471 contracts. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was up 44 cents to $377.37 on February 19.
Export Sales data from USDA showed a total of 14,694 MT of beef sold in the week of February 12, a 5-week low. South Korea was the buyer of 5,500 MT, with 2,600 MT sold to Japan. Shipments were 13,362 MT in that week. The largest destination was South Korea at 4,400 MT, with 3,900 MT to Japan.
