June LC (or LE depending on your platform) settled 5 cents higher at $181.82 on Thursday. June options expire today. The rest of the futures contracts settled 40 to 95 cents lower. Preliminary open interest data shows long liquidation, down 2,073 contracts. Cash cattle trade picked up, with $185 to $190 reported in Kansas and Texas. Most were at the $185 end, $1 below last week. Feeder futures were down $1.97 to $2.20, with the lower finished cattle prices and higher feed costs both weighing on the walking inputs. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was down 32 cents on June 5 to $250.54.
USDA reported net weekly beef export sales of 14,500 MT for the week ending May 30. Census reported April beef exports of 95,000 MT, up from 94,000 in March and down 1.8% vs. April 2023.
