Thursday markets
It was a quiet trading day before the holiday weekend, with both live and feeder cattle closing lower.
“It’s a quiet day for the live cattle contracts as traders let the market drift lower and the week’s cash cattle trade looks to be all but done,” ShayLe Stewart, DTN livestock analyst, wrote in the midday comments. “After an impressive week, which took on the 40-day moving average, the complex is now having to decide if these levels are sustainable over the long run.”
Live cattle closed mixed, with the April contract up 5 cents to $140.67 and the June contract down 45 cents to $136.42.
Cash trade was light, with 3,795 head trading between $142-144, averaging $143.41. Dressed steers sold between $226-228 and averaged $226.87. On the formula side, 35,700 head averaging 882 lbs. sold for $224.45.
Slaughter for the day is projected to be 123,000 head, a thousand below last week.
Actual slaughter for the week ending April 2 was 638,856 head. Steer carcass weights were 909 lbs.
Boxed beef closed mixed on 102 loads, with the Choice cutout down 50 cents to $271.86 and the Select cutout up 34 cents to $259.71.
USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) released the March Meat Price Spreads data on
April 12, showing the retail beef price was $7.69/lb. in March, up about 1 percent from the previous month but 18.6 percent above last year. ERS also reports an All Fresh retail beef price, the “composite value based on Choice beef, other beef, and hamburger retail prices; developed to estimate the average retail value of total beef production.” The March All Fresh beef price was $7.36/lb., up just over 1 percent from February and more than 15 percent above a year ago.
USDA’s Weekly Export report for the April 1-7 period showed net sales of 17,200 metric tons (mt), up 23 percent from the previous week but down 18 percent from the prior four-week average. Exports were 18,600 mt, down 4 percent from the previous week and 24 percent from the four-week average. The destinations were primarily South Korea (5,800 mt), Japan (4,600 mt), China (3,000 mt), Taiwan (1,400 mt) and Mexico (900 mt).
Feeder cattle
Feeder cattle closed slightly lower, with the April contract down 35 cents to $158.20 and the May contract down 17 cents to $161.77. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was up 9 cents to $155.95.
Old crop corn contracts were higher, with the May contract up 6 cents to $7.90 and the July contract up 5 cents to $7.83.
Kansas: Winter Livestock in Dodge City sold 1,905 head Wednesday. Compared to the last auction, yearling steers and heifers 600-800 lbs. sold $4-6 higher. Feeder steers and heifers 800-950 lbs. sold steady to $2 higher. There was no recent comparison on steer and heifer calves 400-600 lbs. However, a lower trend was noted. Benchmark steers averaging 778 lbs. sold between $149-156 and averaged $153.73.
New Mexico: Clovis Livestock in Clovis sold 1,625 head Wednesday. Compared to the previous auction, feeder steers and heifers sold $4-5 higher. Trade activity and demand were moderate to good. Benchmark steers averaging 740 lbs. sold between $158.50-163.50, averaging $159.50.
Oklahoma: OKC West in El Reno sold 5,207 head Wednesday. Compared to the last auction, feeder steers and heifers sold $2-5 higher. Demand was good for all classes of feeder cattle. Benchmark steers averaging 779 lbs. sold between $153-165.50 and averaged $160.13.
Wyoming: Torrington Livestock in Torrington sold 3,372 head Wednesday. Compared to the previous auction, steer calves under 800 lbs. traded mostly steady. Steer calves 800-900 lbs. traded $3-4 higher. Heifer calves traded steady to $4 higher. Benchmark steers averaging 776 lbs. sold between $163-167, averaging $164.14. — Charles Wallace, WLJ editor
