Tuesday markets
Commodities closed in the red on the first day of trading for the week and the final day for May.
Live cattle closed lower, with the June contract down $1.65 to $130.52 and the August contract down $2.02 to $130.37. June live cattle closed down $4.68 for May, and the August contract was down $6.68.
Cash trade was light, with 1,530 head selling at $135. On the formula side, 32,100 head averaging 859 lbs. sold for $223.26.
“Friday’s Commodity Futures Trading Commission Commitment of Traders’ report confirmed the pattern continues of managed funds getting less long and more short, the net down to a low 16,314 contract long, the lowest since 2020,” Cassie Fish, market analyst for The Beef, wrote. “At the same time, commercial traders are getting more long and less short. This pattern typically indicates a bottom in the market is nearing, though when and at what price level who knows.”
Slaughter for the day is projected to be 126,000 head, 1,000 above last week. Monday’s slaughter was 3,000 head.
“As the calendar flips to June, watching processing speeds will become even more important as June can make or break the summer’s tone as lousy (throughput) can mean substantially lower prices in July/August,” ShayLe Stewart, DTN livestock analyst, wrote in the midday comments.
According to the Daily Livestock Report, last week’s slaughter was 644,000 head, up 2.2 percent from the previous year despite a light Saturday slaughter. Slaughter over the previous four weeks was 2 percent, or 52,000 head, which is higher than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices were higher on 144 loads, with the Choice cutout up $2.12 to $267.54 and the Select cutout up $2.15 to $248.65.
Feeder cattle
Despite lower corn futures, feeder cattle closed lower, with the August contract down $1.20 to $165.12 and the September contract down $1.17 to $168.12. The August contract in May lost $8.95. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was down $1.50 to $153.22.
Corn was down double digits, with the July contract down 23 cents to $7.53 and the September contract down 19 cents to $7.25 a bushel.
Iowa: Russell Livestock in Russell sold 6,500 head Monday. No trend was reported due to a lapse in the previous auction three weeks ago. Benchmark steers averaging 722 lbs. sold between $158-173.85, averaging $170.09. — Charles Wallace, WLJ editor
