Live cattle futures ended the Wednesday session with contracts down $1.05 to $2.42 on the day. The market will open at 8:30 CDT. Open interest on Wednesday dropped 1,963 contracts. Cash trade started this week at $255, creeping up to $256 on Wednesday afternoon. The Wednesday Fed Cattle Exchange showed sales of $257 on 70 of the 1,256 head offered, with other bids of $250-254. Feeder cattle futures fell $4.65 to $5.85 across most contracts on Wednesday. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was down another 12 cents on June 1 to $364.14.
Late on Wednesday evening, the USDA confirmed a case of the New World Screwworm in South Texas after testing a suspected case in a 3-week old calf in Zavala county. It’s important to remember there are food safety concerns associated with the screwworm.
