Live cattle futures posted gains of 90 cents to $1.60 on Thursday. Preliminary open interest was up 1,560 contracts. Cash trade has yet to get fully kicked off this week, as last week was $232-233 across the country. The Thursday morning Fed Cattle Exchange online auction showed no sales or bids on the 974 head offered. Feeder cattle futures were back up $3.67 to $4.85 to close out Thursday. OI was up 1,338 contracts. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was up 27 cents to $369.42 on January 13. The markets will be off on Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.
USDA’s APHIS website showed several new cases of New World Screwworm in Mexico over the last week, including 6 new cases in Tamaulipas, a bordering state to the US. Active cases in that state are up to 8.
