So far through Thursday front month live cattle futures are trading with losses of 15 to 20 cents. The December and April ’23 contracts are in the black. Feeder cattle are down by 20 to 57 cents at midday. Light cash trade was confirmed at $149 in TX, $243 dressed in NE, and $154 in the WCB on Wednesday, but USDA mentioned it was not enough for a market test. The CME Feeder Cattle Index from 11/01 was back up by 32 cents to $177.29.
USDA’s FAS reported 9,002 MT of beef sales for the week that ended 10/27. That was a 14-wk low not counting the data flaws during late August. The report also showed 18k MT was shipped through the week, for a s season total of 788k TM. That remains at record pace, up 2.4% yr/yr.
Wholesale Boxed Beef prices were stronger in the Thursday update with a $1.51 increase for Choice and a $0.53 boost in Select. USDA estimated the week’s federally inspected cattle slaughter at 385k head through Wednesday. That is 1,000 head more than last week’s pace, but is up by 66k head from the same week last year.
Dec 22 Cattle are at $151.875, up $0.475,
Feb 23 Cattle are at $154.750, down $0.150,
April 23 Cattle are at $158.350, down $0.150,
Nov 22 Feeder Cattle are at $178.450, down $0.475
Jan 23 Feeder Cattle are at $179.500, down $0.500
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.
