Monday markets
“Friday ended up being another supportive trading day for the livestock contracts as all three markets rounded out the day higher,” ShayLe Stewart, DTN livestock analyst, wrote in her closing comments.
Live cattle futures were higher, up $1.17 to $186.77 on the December contract and up 77 cents to $188.20 on the February contract.
Cash trade for the day was about 20,000 head. Live steers sold from $186-188, and dressed steers sold from $292-300. Total cash trade for the week is about 55,000 head so far.
Slaughter for the day is expected at 117,000 head, 3,000 head below a week earlier. With tomorrow’s slaughter projected at 18,000 head, total slaughter for the week is estimated at 631,000 head, compared to 606,000 head a week earlier.
Boxed beef prices were mixed on 98 loads. The Choice cutout gained 62 cents to close at $307.41, and the Select cutout lost 85 cents to close at $272.07.
USDA released its latest Cattle on Feed report today. Cattle and calves on feed on Nov. 1 totaled 12 million head, slightly above last year. Placements and marketings were each 5% higher than a year earlier. Other disappearance totaled 55,000 head, unchanged from 2023.
“All in all, it’s likely that the market will find today’s Cattle on Feed report to be neutral as most of the data was closely aligned with pre-report estimates,” Stewart said.
Feeder cattle
“It was an utterly incredible week for the feeder cattle complex as the market powered higher every single day on the futures complex and the support in which traders saw from the countryside was impeccable as buyers continue to aggressively seek both calves and feeders,” Stewart said.
Feeder cattle futures were higher, with the January contract up 85 cents to $254.30 and the March contract up $1.02 to $253.12.
The CME Feeder Cattle Index gained 27 cents to close at $254.54.
Corn futures were slightly lower, down a penny apiece to $4.25 and $4.35 on the December and March contracts, respectively. — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
