Live cattle rallied to new life of contract highs on Tuesday. August futures closed 60 cents off that mark, but still up by $1.62 for the day. The other front months were also up by triple digits. The Tuesday FCE auction sold 2 pens of 36 CA Holstein steers for $172, while the rest of the 1,400 head listed went unsold between $177 bids and $182 asks. USDA confirmed some $180 sales on Tuesday, but volumes were very limited.
Feeder cattle futures settled the Tuesday session with $0.82 to $0.92 gains. At the session high, August feeders were 70 cents under their ATH. USDA’s weekly OKC Feeder Cattle Auction Review mentioned $3-$5 increases for steers and $5 to $10 increases for quality heifers for the 6,879 head sold. The 7/7 CME Feeder Cattle Index was $238.66 after a $7.45 increase.
USDA reported Wholesale Boxed Beef Prices were down $1.67 for Choice and down by $2.09 for Select, which widened the Chc/Sel spread to $31.88. Federally inspected cattle slaughter was estimated at 128,000 head for Tuesday. After revising Monday’s kill lower, the week’s running total is now at 250k head.
Aug 23 Cattle closed at $178.825, up $1.625,
Oct 23 Cattle closed at $181.725, up $1.775,
Dec 23 Cattle closed at $184.975, up $1.225,
Aug 23 Feeder Cattle closed at $247.150, up $0.900
Sep 23 Feeder Cattle closed at $250.300, up $0.825
Oct 23 Feeder Cattle closed at $252.100, up $0.875
On the date of publication, Alan Brugler did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
