
Live cattle futures saw losses of 85 cents to $1.15 on Wednesday. Open interest was up 2,348 contracts. There were another 20 deliveries tendered on Wednesday. Cash trade has been slow this week, with a few early sales at $229. The Wednesday Fed Cattle Exchange online auction showed no sales on the 1,708 head listed and bids of $227 live and $347.50-354 dressed. Feeder cattle futures were down 1.25 to $1.80 across the front months. The CME feeder cattle index from December 16 was up 94 cents from the day prior at $349.79.
Commitment of Traders data in the week ending on 12/2 showed spec funds in live cattle futures and options cutting 10,703 contracts from their net long to 82,208 contracts. Managed money was busy trimming another 2,630 contracts from their net long in the week of December 2 to 13,418 contracts, the smallest since November 2024.