Live cattle futures failed to hold into the early gains on Thursday, with beef pressure pushing things 5 to 55 cents lower into the close. Cash trade saw very light $225 Southern action reported early this week, with bids on Thursday at $223-227. A few northern trades were tallied at $235. The Thursday morning Fed Cattle Exchange online auction from Central Stockyards, showed no sales on the 928 head, with bids of just $220-221. Feeder cattle fell off the early session gains after a gap higher, but bulls still fought off midday pressure to close with 80 cent to $1.20 gains. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was up $5.08 to $321.84 on July 9.
Following discovery of a case of New World Screwworm just 370 miles south of the US/Mexico border, USDA Secretary Rollins announced the suspension of animal imports from Mexico late on Wednesday.
