Friday markets
Cattle futures bulls remain firmly in control, with no strong signs of a market top as cash fed cattle prices jumped $8-10/cwt this week.
“CME live cattle futures are up over 700 points for the week and feeder cattle futures are up over 1000 points for the week,” wrote Cassie Fish, market analyst, in The Beef. “And with the magnitude of this enormous rally looming ahead of another weekend, packers still have not purchased enough cattle for this week. It’s the most impressive game of playground ‘keep away’ ever played and the packer cannot get his hands on the ball.”
Live cattle continue their record-breaking streak, with the June contract up $3.40 to $226.30 and the August contract up $2.05 to $218.87.
USDA is reporting cash trade for the week was approximately 50,692 head. Live steers sold for $230-242, and dressed steers sold between $378-386.
Slaughter for today is estimated to be 103,000 head, 14,000 head below the previous week. Saturday’s slaughter is projected to be 2,000 head, bringing the estimated weekly total to 582,000 head.
Boxed beef prices were mixed on 103 loads, with the Choice cutout down $1.77 to $365.08 and the Select cutout up 12 cents to $356.73.
“The one segment of the market that is a non-participant to all else that is extraordinary is wholesale boxed beef,” Fish wrote. “Yes, choice boxes rallied, but the rally was ordinary and orderly, with no puff of blow off. As of yesterday’s close, choice boxes had gained 76 lousy cents from a week ago. Understandably, it’s hard to rally with the rib primal in a sharp nose dive, down nearly $39/cwt from a week ago, making new lows and trading $20/cwt discount to the choice loin, not to mention a discount to its select rib counterpart.”
Feeder cattle
Feeder cattle futures closed in the green, with the August contract up $1 to $310.15 and the September contract up 82 cents to $309.12.
The CME Feeder Cattle Index was up $1.30 to $306.16.
Corn futures closed higher, with the July contract up 3 cents to $4.42 and the September contract up a penny to $4.33.
Kansas: Winter Livestock in Pratt sold 3,048 head on Thursday. Compared to the last auction, feeder steers and heifers 650-950 lbs. sold $8-16 higher; however, thin fleshed cattle sold up to $20 higher. There were not enough steers and heifers under 650 lbs. for a market test. Benchmark steers averaging 781 lbs. sold for $295-301, averaging $299.10.
Texas: Cattlemen’s Livestock in Dalhart sold 1,133 head on Thursday. Compared to the last auction, there were few comparable sales on steers this week, but sentiment leaned toward steady to higher. Heifers were up almost $8 on both feeders and calves. Benchmark steers averaging 716 lbs. sold for $320-327.50, averaging $322.33. — Charles Wallace, WLJ contributing editor
