
Live cattle futures posted contract highs on Wednesday, but slipped back lower on Thursday to close with 22 to 42 cent losses. Cash trade has been light this week, with light trade picked up in KS at $230-231 and thin $242 northern action. Feeder cattle faded 30 to 60 cents lower on Thursday. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was back up 26 cents to $322.17 on July 16.
USDA reported net weekly beef export sales of 8,800 MT in this morning’s update for the week ending July 10. That included the July 4th weekend. Sales were down 24% from the pre-holiday week, with Japan the largest buyer.