Cattle Mixed on Thursday, with Weakness in Some Contracts
Live cattle futures are up 92 cents in the nearby June contract, trying to catch cash. Other contracts are down 30 to 45 cents. Cash trade has been reported at $235 in the South so far this week, with dressed action at $380 in the North. The Wednesday Fed Cattle Exchange online auction from Central Stockyards showed $235 sales in TX and $238-240 in KS, with BidTheGrid™ sales of $237-240. Feeder cattle futures are down 15 to 75 cents at midday, The CME Feeder Cattle Index was up $0.58 on June 10 with an average price of $314.62.
USDA tallied beef export sales at 15,337 MT in the week ending on June 5. That was an 8-week high and nearly double the week prior. South Korea was the buyer of 6,100 MT, with 3,200 MT sold to Japan. Shipments were 14,542 MT, whish was the highest in 3 weeks. Of that total, 5,300 MT was headed to South Korea with 4,200 T to Japan.
USDA’s National Wholesale Boxed Beef prices were higher on Thursday morning, with the Chc/Sel spread at $13.53. Choice boxes were up another $2.50 at $377.26, while Select was quoted $2.98 higher at $363.73/cwt. USDA’s Federally inspected cattle slaughter for Wednesday was estimated at 110,000 head, with the weekly total 341,000 head. That is 16,000 head below the week prior and 26,072 head below the same week last year.
Jun 25 Live Cattle are at $228.750, up $0.925,
Aug 25 Live Cattle are at $217.675, down $0.350,
Oct 25 Live Cattle are at $214.725, down $0.300,
Aug 25 Feeder Cattle are at $310.925, down $0.150
Sep 25 Feeder Cattle are at $310.275, down $0.525
Oct 25 Feeder Cattle are at $308.500, down $0.350
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.
