Thursday markets
“The cash cattle market has finally begun to see cattle after waiting long into the week for the market’s trend to develop,” wrote ShayLe Stewart, DTN livestock analyst, in the midday comments.
Live cattle closed mixed, with the August contract up a nickel to $134.55 and the October contract down a dime to $139.85.
Cash trade was active today, with 34,330 head selling between $137-150, averaging $145.41. Dressed steers sold between $230-232. On the formula side, 23,500 head averaging 867 lbs. sold for $229.31.
“The cash cattle market is finally starting to see some interest after feedlots put up a good fight in deferring the week’s business in hopes of driving prices higher,” Stewart wrote. “The Southern Plains is seeing cattle sell for mostly $137 (which is steady to $1.00 lower than last week), and in the North, cattle are selling anywhere from $147-151 (which is steady to $1.00 higher than last week). Given that packers have cattle committed for this week and next, it’s unlikely that this week’s volume is very big.”
Slaughter for today is projected to be 126,000 head, 2,000 above last week.
Actual slaughter for the week ending June 25 was 664,553 head. Steer weights averaged 883 lbs.
Boxed beef prices closed mixed on 125 loads, with the Choice cutout up 2 cents to $268.07 and the Select cutout down 35 cents to $242.58.
USDA’s Weekly Export report for the June 17-23 period showed net sales of 17,000 metric tons (mt) for 2022, up 52 percent from the previous week and 6 percent from the prior four-week average. Increases were seen primarily in South Korea (5,100 mt), China (4,500 mt), Japan (2,000 mt), Taiwan (1,700 mt) and Indonesia (1,000 mt). Exports were 19,800 mt, up 4 percent from the previous week and 5 percent from the prior four-week average.
Feeder cattle
Feeder cattle closed lower as corn contracts traded higher, with the August contract down 82 cents to $172.47 and the September contract down $1.02 to $176.05. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was down $2.18 to $162.90.
“With the cash cattle market still not having developed a test on this week’s market, the feeder cattle complex has only its own technical and fundamental support to rely on,” Stewart wrote. “Feeder cattle demand throughout the countryside has been strong as buyers see the premiums in the deferred live cattle market and hope to capitalize on those higher prices.”
Corn closed higher, with the July contract up 2 cents to $7.47 and the September contract up 9 cents to $6.09.
Kansas: Winter Livestock in Dodge City sold 1,456 head Wednesday. Compared to the last auction, steers and heifers 400-900 lbs. sold $4-7 higher on light receipts. Benchmark steers averaging 715 lbs. sold between $163-168, averaging $165.62.
Oklahoma: OKC West in El Reno sold 3,063 head on Wednesday. Compared to the previous auction, feeder steers and heifers were lightly tested, but the bulk of trades sold $4-6 higher. Steer and heifer calves were too lightly tested for a trend. Benchmark steers averaging 783 lbs. sold between $169.50-180 and averaged $172.14. — Charles Wallace, WLJ editor
