Front month fat cattle were mixed on the day within 15 cents of UNCH. The Thursday FCE auction had no sales for the 1,216 head listed, with bids stuck at $172 and asks up at $176. USDA confirmed limited cash sales on Thursday from $170 to $179, maintaining the bulk of activity near $172 in the South and $176 in the North. Feeder cattle futures ended the day mixed as well, with August the biggest mover on a 37 cent loss. The CME Feeder Cattle Index for 5/3 was $201.53, down another $1.17.
Export Sales data showed 20,141 MT of beef was sold during the week that ended 4/27. That was an 11 week high led by Japanese purchases. The data also showed a yearly high 18.8k MT were exported during the week, again led by Japan and South Korea. The year’s total shipment reached 267,588 MT compared to 309k MT last year.
