Cattle Focus Shifting to Wednesday After Early Week Strength

Man feeding cows on farm in cowshed by JackF via iStock

Live cattle futures ended the Tuesday session with gains of 70 cents to $1.17 across the board. Cash trade last week settled in with Northern sales of $186-188 and Southern action at $187. Early week action has been compiling showlists and looking for bids.

Feeder cattle futures were up 67 cents to $1.87 to close out Tuesday, as weaker corn was supportive for the walking inputs. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was down 19 cents at $249.64 on November 11. Monday’s OKC Feeder Cattle auction showed an estimated 6,164 head for sale, which is well above last week but down from the 9,169 last year. Feeder steers were $2-4 higher, with feeder heifers steady to $2 higher. Calves were $15-20 higher.

USDA wholesale Boxed Beef prices were mixed in the Tuesday afternoon report. Choice boxes were up 6 cents to $308.27/cwt, with Select $1.92 higher @ $279.92. The Chc/Sel spread widened to $28.35. USDA estimated the Tuesday federally inspected cattle slaughter at 121,000 head, with the weekly total at 233,000 head. That was 11,000 head below the previous week and down 19,183 head from the same week last year.

Dec 24 Live Cattle  closed at $184.400, up $0.700,

Feb 25 Live Cattle  closed at $186.125, up $0.750,

Apr 25 Live Cattle  closed at $187.700, up $0.950,

Nov 24 Feeder Cattle  closed at $246.825, up $0.675,

Jan 25 Feeder Cattle  closed at $243.575, up $1.325,

Mar 25 Feeder Cattle  closed at $241.725, up $1.675,


On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder 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.