Live cattle futures closed the Thursday with contracts down $1.67 to $3.45. There were 3 deliveries for April retendered in Dodge City on Thursday, with another 20 deliveries tendered in West Point. Open interest slipped 1,576 contracts on Thursday, suggesting some longs were exiting. Cash trade has picked up this week, with a few $248 sales in the South, as last week was $246-249 in the South and $249-250 in the north. The Thursday morning Fed Cattle Exchange online auction showed no sales on the 1,222 head, with bids of $246-248. Feeder cattle futures posted losses of $3.67 to $4.62 on Thursday, with April down 42 cents. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was up $3.63 to $379.09 on April 15.Â
The Thursday update from APHIS on the new world screwworm in Mexico showed a total of 1,295 active cases across the country. There was still 63 total active cases in the bordering state of Tamaulipas as of April 15, with 2 active cases in Nuevo Leon.
USDA will release their Cattle on Feed report on Friday afternoon, with March Placements estimated to be down 7.1% from a year ago, with marketings down 6.2%. April 1 on feed is estimated to be down 0.5%.
Export sales data showed 12,054 MT of 2026 beef sales for the week of 4/9, which was down 30.76% from last week and 31% below the same week last year. South Korea was the buyer of 4,900 MT, with 2,400 MT sold to Japan. Shipments were back up from the week prior at 13,427 MT. The top destination was South Korea at 4,200 MT, with 3,000 MT to Japan.Â
Wholesale Boxed Beef prices were higher in the Thursday afternoon report, with the Chc/Sel holding at $3.09. Choice boxes were down 41 cents to $381.57, while Select was also 10 cents lower at $378.48. USDA estimated federally inspected cattle slaughter at 104,000 head for Thursday, taking the weekly total to 429,000 head. That is up 4,000 head from last week but 47,286 head below the same week last year. Â
Apr 26 Live Cattle  closed at $250.300, down $2.300,
Jun 26 Live Cattle  closed at $247.625, down $3.450,
Aug 26 Live Cattle  closed at $243.075, down $3.050,
Apr 26 Feeder Cattle  closed at $373.075, down $0.425,
May 26 Feeder Cattle  closed at $367.100, down $3.850,
Aug 26 Feeder Cattle  closed at $368.525, down $3.675,
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.
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