Friday markets
The cattle market headed into the weekend higher.
Live cattle futures were higher, with the February contract up 87 cents to $138.70 and the April contract up $1.47 to $143.10.
There was some cash trade to close out the week, with 2,904 head sold. Live steers sold between $136-138, and dressed steers sold for $218. As of Friday morning, cash trade through the week totaled about 77,500 head.
“Overall, it’s been a lukewarm week for the live cattle market,” wrote ShayLe Stewart, DTN livestock analyst, in her midday comments. “Though processing speeds have improved, they still aren’t back to full capacity. Not to mention boxed beef prices trended lower throughout most of the week and the cash cattle market saw very little interest.”
Slaughter for the day is projected at 117,000 head, and with tomorrow’s slaughter expected to be 57,000 head, slaughter for the entire week is estimated to reach 643,000 head—about 7,000 head more than last week.
Boxed beef prices were higher on 77 loads. The Choice cutout gained $1.31 to close at $290.42, and the Select cutout gained $4.31 to close at $283.41.
Feeder cattle
“The feeder cattle contracts are rallying as the market clings to the support that seeped in from the live cattle complex, even though both corn and soybean prices are trading higher,” Stewart said.
The March feeder cattle contract was up 12 cents to $159.62, and the April contract was up 20 cents to $165.20. The CME Feeder Cattle Index lost 39 cents to close at $158.66.
Corn futures shot up, with the March contract up 10 cents to $6.36 and the May contract up 10 cents to $6.33.
Oklahoma: OKC West Livestock Auction in El Reno sold 10,981 head Wednesday. Compared to last week, feeder steers sold $3-7 lower, and feeder heifers traded mostly steady. Benchmark steers averaging 775 lbs. sold between $150-165.50, averaging $153.60. — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
