May feeder cattle went off the board at $208.97, as the 5/24 CME Feeder Cattle Index was 78 cents higher at $208.14. The August contract takes over as the lead month at a $25.72 premium and just $10.50 below the front month record high from 2014. At the close, feeders were 17 to 47 cents higher. Thursday fat cattle futures ended with 37 to 65 cent gains after the June contracts $1.20 rally to new LoC highs. Thursday’s cash trade settled down from yesterday, though there were still some WCB $182s reported. The week’s bulk price for the South has been $171 so far, with $180 - $182 in the North and $285 in the Northern dressed trade.Â
The weekly Export Sales report showed 18,256 MT of beef was booked during the week that ended 5/18. That was a 3-week high, but 9% below the same week last year. Exports were 16,518 MT led by shipments to South Korea and Japan. Accumulated 2023 beef exports reached 317,144 MT.Â
USDA’s Wholesale Boxed Beef report had Choice $1.64 stronger and Select 75 cents higher. USDA estimated the week to date FI cattle slaughter at 498k head through Thursday. That is 6,000 behind last week’s pace.
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Jun 23 Cattle  closed at $167.300, up $1.200,
Aug 23 Cattle  closed at $164.775, up $0.650,
Oct 23 Cattle  closed at $169.025, up $0.650,
Aug 23 Feeder Cattle  closed at $234.700, up $0.175
Sep 23 Feeder Cattle  closed at $238.075, up $0.450
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.
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