December live cattle (LEZ26) futures on Friday surged $3.50 to close at $227.05 and hit a two-month high. For the week, December live cattle gained $5.575. November feeder cattle (GFX26) futures Friday gained $7.075 to $341.95, hit a nearly three-month high, and for the week were up $10.80. The cattle futures markets saw serious technical buying kick in to end last week, as the chart-based speculators know the near-term price uptrends are the bulls’ friends in both markets. The big drop in corn futures prices on Friday following a bearish WASDE report from USDA also boosted feeder cattle futures.
The USDA at midday Friday reported more active cash cattle trading late last week, with steers averaging $219.10 and heifers $219.91. The agency reported average cash cattle trading the week prior at $219.80.
