Live cattle futures closed Wednesday with contracts $1.70 to $3.35 higher across the board. Cash trade has been limited so far, with last week at $260 to $265 across the country. The Wednesday Fed Cattle Exchange online auction showed no sales on the 1,008 head offered, with bids of $255. Feeder cattle futures posted Wednesday gains of $3.80 to $5.17 on the day. Open interest was down 1,561 contracts, suggesting some shorts were bailing. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was down $4.23 on May 25 to $367.26.
Wholesale Boxed Beef prices were mixed in the Wednesday PM report, with the Chc/Sel spread at $5.43. Choice boxes were up $1.82 to $394.72, while Select was $1.01 lower at $389.29. USDA estimated federally inspected cattle slaughter for Wednesday at 110,000 head, with the weekly total at 222,000 head. That was down 20,284 head from the same post-Memorial Day week last year.
