Live cattle futures were mixed at the close, anticipating little bearish news for nearby cash cattle in the COF report, but more cautious above December and later. Overall, the board was 85 cents higher to 52 cents lower. Some southern cattle traded at $187 to $188.50 this week, with the north showing some sales of $310 in the beef and live sales of $196. Feeder cattle futures went home with Friday losses of $.62 to $1.30, and most contracts in triple digit territory. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was down 8 cents on July 18 at $259.18.
Friday’s Cattle on Feed report showed June feeder placements at 1.564 million head, a 6.85% drop from last year, while marketings were down 8.74% at 1.786 million head. That took the on feed inventory to 11.304 million head by July 1, a 0.54% increase from last year.
