Live cattle futures saw gains on Monday, with contracts closing $1 to $1.25 higher. Cash trade found its footing last week at $233 to $236.50 live and $370 dressed. Feeder cattle futures closed the Monday session with contracts $1.90 to $2.50 higher across the front months. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was up just 9 cents to $363.57 on January 23.
The monthly Cattle on Feed report showed December placements down 5.38% from last year at 1.554 million head. Marketings during the month were up 1.78% yr/yr to 1.773 million head. January 1 on feed was 11.45 million head, down 3.15% from last year. We got a breakdown of steers and heifers this month, with Jan 1 inventory of heifers down 3.07% from last year (vs. steers down 3.22%) and a ratio of 38.73%, up from 38.70% last year.
