Friday markets
Markets eased into the weekend slightly lower on the board, but with optimism in the cash market.
Live cattle futures were lower, with the February contract down 15 cents to $143.25 and the April contract down 90 cents to $145.87.
There was some cash trade to round out the week, with 2,396 head sold. Live steers sold between $142-144, and dressed steers sold for $226. Cash trade through Friday morning totaled about 95,000 head, with live steers averaging $142.50 and dressed steers averaging $226.72.
“The most notable development this week in the cattle futures trading world is a classic example of cash being stronger than futures. Negotiated cash cattle prices surged to a new high in this bull market, the highest price since 2015,” wrote Cassie Fish, market analyst, in The Beef.
Slaughter for the day is projected at 121,000 head. Tomorrow’s slaughter is expected to be about 54,000 head, bringing the week’s total to 663,000 head. This is a 4,000 head increase over last week.
Boxed beef prices dropped today on 121 loads. The Choice cutout lost $3.74 to close at $265.85, and the Select cutout lost $2.22 to close at $262.63.
Feeder cattle
“Even though the cattle market is in a long-term bull, after multiple obstacles the last couple of years, the drought has forced feeder cattle into feedyards and there are a record number of cattle on feed for any time in history,” Fish said. “Many of those cattle have out-dates beginning in May and stretching until fall.”
Feeder cattle futures were also lower. The March contract lost 77 cents to close at $165.42, and the April contract lost 30 cents to close at $170.85. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was unchanged today at $162.14.
Corn futures were modestly higher, with the March contract up 4 cents to $6.54 and the May contract up 3 cents to $6.52.
Nebraska: Ogallala Livestock Auction in Ogallala sold 7,320 head yesterday. There was no comparison to last week. Benchmark steers averaging 768 lbs. sold between $162.50-170, averaging $166.86. — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
