Live cattle futures are $3.82 to $4.87 higher at midday. Cash trade was reported at $350-355 dressed in the North with a few $222-223 live sales. Some weekend sales were rumored at $225. Feeder cattle futures are rallying $3.20 to $6.60. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was down 67 cents on September 17 to $342.50. The Monday OKC feeder cattle auction has an estimated 5,700 head for sale, with early demand noted as good.
USDA’s Cattle on Feed report from Friday showed August placements well below estimates (down 3.3%) at 1.617 million head, a record low for the month and 9.16% below last year. Marketings during the month were down 3.31% at 1.519 million head. September 1 on feed inventory was up just 0.75% from a year ago at 11.163 million head.