Live cattle are showing slight 7 to 20 cent gains in the front months on Tuesday. Last week’s cash cattle trade centered around $188 in the South, with northern trade at $198. This week’s early activity was mostly just compiling show lists. Feeder cattle are mostly 15 to 45 cent higher, with nearby August down 45 cents. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was up 84 cents on July 12 at $261.88. Monday’s OKC feeder cattle auction showed 6,212 head of calves sold, up nearly 2,000 head from last week. Prices were noted as $4-8 lower, with demand termed moderate.
Pasture conditions were listed at 41% good/ex, a drop of 3% from the week previous. That was a 307 rating on the Brugler500 index (using all 5 USDA ratings categories), an 11-point drop from last week. An average of the major beef cow states shows a 9-point reduction to 340.
