Feeder Cattle Aug '18 (GFQ18)

by cmdtyNewswires - Fri May 24, 5:35PM CDT
Live cattle futures were 20 to 40 cents lower in most contracts on Friday, with June up 37.5 cents. Feeder cattle futures were steady to 57.5 cents lower, as August was up 20 cents. After the close, the Cattle on Feed report showed April placements up 8.67% from year ago at 1.842 million head, below most estimates. Marketings were up 6.93% from last year at 1.928 million head. The May 1 on feed inventory was pegged at 11.818 million head, up 2.25% and lighter than expectations. The CME feeder cattle index was up $3.11 to $136.81 on May 23. Wholesale boxed beef prices were higher on Friday afternoon. Choice boxes were up 85 cents at $221.64 with Select boxes $1.94 higher @ $208.47. USDA has this week’s FI cattle slaughter at 641,000 head through Saturday. Cash trade this week was seen at $115 in the South and $115-116 in the North. The large managed money spec funds continue to liquidate their long position, with the Commitment of Traders report showing their net short position at 72,705 contracts on Tuesday. Jun 19 Cattle closed at $111.175, up $0.375, Aug 19 Cattle closed at $107.950, down $0.200, Oct 19 Cattle closed at $107.775, down $0.275, Aug 19 Feeder Cattle closed at $143.225, up $0.200 Sep 19 Feeder Cattle closed at $143.875, down $0.125 Oct 19 Feeder Cattle closed at $144.225, down $0.525 --provided by Brugler Marketing & Management