Nearby live cattle futures added triple digits to the upside on Monday with Feb’s $0.87 gain as the weakest mover. April was up the most with a $1.42 gain. USDA did not mention any cash trade for Monday, citing last week’s bulk near $136 with the full range of $136 - $139. Feeder cattle futures were also stronger on Monday, gaining $2.60 to $3.40 in the front months. The CME Feeder Cattle Index for 1/28 was $158.44, down by another 22 cents.
NASS reported 91.901m head of cattle for the national herd as of January 1st. That was down 2% from January 2021, and just below the average of estimates. The beef cow herd was 30.125m head, or 2.3% lighter yr/yr. All cows were 2% below Jan ’21, compared to the expected 1.4% drop. The calf crop was down 1.15% yr/yr, while the trade was expecting a 0.9% drop. The replacement heifers for beef were 5.611m head or 3.7% lighter yr/yr. The trade was expecting to see between 3.2% and 1.1% fewer with 1.8% as the average.
Wholesale Boxed Beef prices were weaker on Monday with Choice fading 2 cents and Select dipping by 14. USDA estimated the week’s federally inspected cattle slaughter at 120k head for Monday. That compares to 115k head last week and 116k head from the same week last year.
Feb 22 Cattle closed at $139.575, up $0.875,
Jun 22 Cattle closed at $139.075, up $1.075,
Mar 22 Feeder Cattle closed at $163.025, up $3.400
Apr 22 Feeder Cattle closed at $168.450, up $3.150
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