Wednesday markets
Cattle futures made some small gains today, while cash trade has continued to trade in the same $118-125 range.
Live cattle futures made some gains. The August contract increased 80 cents to $124.05 and the October contract gained 82 cents to $128.97.
A good chunk of cash trade took place today. A total of 29,149 head sold, with live steers selling between $118-125 and averaging $123.20. Dressed steers sold between $197-198. On the formula side, a total of 21,500 head averaging 847 lbs. sold for $196.76.
The Fed Cattle Exchange listed 6,078 head from Texas and Kansas for its weekly Wednesday auction. Of that, 1,393 head from Texas actually sold, and traded between $118-122.
Slaughter for the day is expected to be 121,000 head, about a thousand head more than last Wednesday. To date this week, slaughter has totaled 359,000 head—running about the same utilization as last week.
“Packers continue to manage throughput and though cash cattle prices are well supported, so far there is not need for packers to aggressively push cash cattle prices higher,” reported Cassie Fish, market analyst in The Beef.
Boxed beef prices were higher yet again. On 146 loads, the Choice cutout increased $3.50 to $289.34 and the Select cutout gained $3.66 to $271.15.
“This week’s higher boxed beef prices also give trader expectations a more bullish tone, at least theoretically,” remarked Todd Hultman, DTN lead analyst, in his midday comments. “The rub is that there has only been a little evidence recently of willingness on the packer side to increase boxed beef loads to market and the slaughter pace remains flat.”
Feeder cattle
Feeders made some small gains today. The August contract increased 30 cents to $159.20 and the September contract increased 35 cents to $162.87. The CME Feeder Cattle Index lost 18 cents and closed at $155.97.
Corn prices were lower, with the September contract down 4 cents to $5.45 and the December contract down 5 cents to $5.46.
“Despite the hurdle of higher feed costs, September feeders are trading at their highest prices in over five years, helped by a more active economy in 2021 and strong demand for beef that has slowly been making its way to producers,” Hultman said.
Missouri: Ozarks Regional Stockyards sold 3,006 head Tuesday. Compared to the previous sale, steer and heifer calves traded mostly higher with spots $4 higher. There were too few yearlings the week prior for a market trend, but undertones were steady to firm. Benchmark steers averaging 772 lbs. sold between $149-157, averaging $154.46. — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
