Live cattle futures were lower at the Thursday close, with contracts down $2.30 to $2.60. August, which expires today, fell $6.20 to $237, despite cash trade holding up. There were 20 deliveries retendered on Thursday. Preliminary open interest was up 2,057 contracts, suggesting new selling interest. Cash trade has been limited so far this week, with a few bids of $245 in the north reported and light sales of $240-242 in KS. Thursday morning’s Fed Cattle Exchange online auction showed a total of 1,220 head listed with bids of $235-236 reported. Feeder cattle futures fell back on Thursday, closing with losses of$2.50 to $3.60, as expiring August was up 47.5 cents. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was up another $4.55 to $365.23 on August 27.
Export Sales data showed a total of 13,591 MT of beef sold in the week of August 21, a 3-week high. The largest buyer was Japan at 7,700 MT, with 1,500 MT sold to South Korea. Shipments were also the highest in the last three weeks at 11,483 MT. South Korea led the top destinations at 3,600 MT, with 3,500 MT headed to Japan.
