Traders Brace for a Volatile Cattle Open

Live Cattle (December)

Live cattle opened sharply lower on Friday, but rebounded and traded back into positive territory, before settling slightly lower. All in all, Friday’s trade saw a range of 8.37, which takes the 14-day average trading range to a new high of 5.30. Friday’s Cattle on Feed report had a bit of a bullish tailwind to it which may have offered some hope or the Bulls. But shortly after that, there was a story that Tyson will be shutting down their plant in Lexington Nebraska. This is largely expectedly unexpected, meaning that a headline like this hard been a concern for several months, timing the headline though, proves to be next to impossible. However, Friday’s open makes you wonder if/who knew something ahead of time. Traders are largely expecting a sharply lower open, with some calling for an open at/near limit.

Resistance: 216.00-216.85***, 224.125-225.05***, 229.43-230.27****
Pivot: 212.87
Support: 208.00-208.275***, 207.20 (limit)

Daily Cattle and Beef Summary

Cutout values were firm in Friday afternoon’s report, with choice cuts .20 higher to 371.48 and select cuts 2.80 higher to 356.98. The 5 area average price for live steers came in at 217.57, which is softer than what we’ve seen in recent reports and the lowest since about May/June. Daily slaughter was reported at 120k head. The CME Feeder Cattle Index is at 339.72, with the NBW Real Time Index at 336.52 this morning.

Cattle on Feed Snapshots

• Cattle on feed 98% VS Estimates of 97.9%
• Placements 90% VS Estimates of 92.2
• Marketings 92% VS Estimates of 92.5

Other notable headline from Friday

Tyson shutting Lexington Nebraska plant with 3,200 employees

Seasonal Tendency Update
(updated 11.24.25)

Below is a look at historical price averages for February futures on a 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 year time frames (Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results).

Check out the chart: Traders Brace for a Volatile Cattle Open - Blue Line Futures

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