Live cattle futures saw bulls pull off the early session lows at the Monday open to close with 1 to $1.30 losses, as nearby and soon to expire August was up 27 cents. Cash trade was quiet on Monday, mostly compiling showlists. Last week saw northern dressed action at $385-392 and live trade at $245, with southern trade at 240.
Feeder cattle futures were up 50 cents in August, with other contract pulling off the early and near limit losses at the open, down just 70 cents to $2. Preliminary open interest showed a rotation of ownership, up just 35 contracts on Monday. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was up $7.84 to $357.92 on August 22. Monday’s OKC weekly feeder auction had an estimated 6,250 head for sale, with sales noted $4-10 higher for feeders, steer calves up $10-20, and heifer calves up $8-12.
