Friday markets
Live cattle were mixed today, but feeder cattle were able to find some momentum and gain several dollars.
“The live cattle market was given a bullish export report but that doesn’t seem to be enough to overshine the dogma following a weaker cash cattle market and stout resistance on the board,” reported ShayLe Stewart, DTN livestock analyst, in her midday comments.
The August live cattle contract was lower 5 cents to $119.22 and the October contract was up 12 cents to $125.57.
A small amount of cash trade took place today. A total of 4,763 head sold, with live steers averaging $124.70 and dressed steers $196.77. On the formula side, a total of 31,200 head averaging 859 lbs. sold for $199.22.
Slaughter for the day is projected to reach 120,000 head, several thousand head higher than the same time last week, when some plants were down for the holiday weekend. Tomorrow’s slaughter is expected to reach 95,000 head in order to make up for the lost numbers on Monday. Through Friday, slaughter totaled only 487,000 head, about 100,000 head short of usual numbers.
Boxed beef prices were several dollars lower on 109 loads. The Choice cutout lost $3.38 to $278.59 and the Select cutout lost $2.65 to $257.41.
USDA released its latest export report today, which showed beef net sales were up 96 percent from the previous week to 23,700 metric tons (mt). The three largest buyers were South Korea (10,400 mt), Japan (5,800 mt) and China (2,700).
Feeder cattle
Feeder cattle managed to find some more gains today. The August contract was up $1.85 to $159.17 and the September contract was up $1.80 to $161.82. Corn was lower again, with the July contract down 8 cents to $6.29 and the September contract down 7 cents to $5.29.
The CME Feeder Cattle Index was up $1.26 to $152.77.
“Obviously, the feeder cattle market would like to see stronger developments from both the live cattle and cash cattle markets, but at the same time, the market cannot deny how aggressive buyers have been to fill their orders this week, and a lower ascending corn market doesn’t hurt their feelings either,” Stewart said.
South Dakota: Mitchell Livestock in Mitchell sold 6,609 head yesterday. Compared to two weeks ago, a higher undertone was noted on steers up to 800 lbs. Steers 800-850 lbs. were $4 higher; 850-900 lbs. were $7 higher; and 950-1,050 lbs. were $2 higher. Feeder heifers 600-650 lbs. were $6 higher; 700-900 lbs. were $1-3 higher; and 1,000-1,050 lbs. were $4 higher. Benchmark steers averaging 757 lbs. sold between $150-163, averaging $158.15. — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
