Monday markets
Cattle futures closed lower following the announcement by USDA to begin reopening the border in Arizona next month to cattle imports from Mexico.
“Last Friday hit like a Mack truck. From having to absorb the monthly Cattle on Feed report, to seeing the bi-annual Cattle inventory report released, to late in the day being surprised to see an announcement come from U.S. Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins that the U.S. will begin to slowly reopen the border to Mexican cattle imports on Aug. 24th—it was a whirlwind of a day,” ShayLe Stewart, DTN livestock analyst, wrote in her midday comments. “And given that today (Monday) is the first time traders have had the chance to react to any of those reports/announcements, it comes as no real surprise the market is trading lower.”
Live cattle futures closed triple digits lower, with the August contract down $1.85 to $225.22 and the October contract $3.72 lower to $218.77.
Cash trade was light, with 547 head sold for $360. On the formula side, 27,200 head averaging 946 lbs. sold for an average of $380.22.
Cash trade for the week ending July 26 was 47,091 head. Live steers averaged $230.58, and dressed steers averaged $365.39.
“Last week’s negotiated fed cattle trade was quite small at 47k head total which was reported Friday afternoon and given that August contracts won’t be available until next week, it would appear packers need inventory,” Cassie Fish, market analyst, wrote in The Beef. “Packer cattle costs have dropped about $20/cwt the past five weeks and margins improved just enough so that last week’s slaughter totaled 528k head, up 3k from the prior week.”
Today’s slaughter is estimated to be 95,000 head, 7,000 head lower than last week. Slaughter for the previous week is projected to be 528,000. Total beef production for the week ending July 25 was 457.3 million pounds, up 0.6% from the previous week.
Boxed beef prices were mixed on 86 loads, with the Choice cutout up $1.65 to $362.89 and the Select cutout down $1.55 to $345.16.
CME beef trim contracts remain unchanged. The 50% lean beef trim August contract closed at $175 and the September contract at $165. The 90% lean beef trim August contract closed at $457, and the September contract at $453.
Feeder cattle
Feeder cattle closed lower, with deferred contracts closing limit down. The August contract was down $7.07 to $338.25 and the September contract $9.52 lower to $331.92.
“With little support from the live cattle/fed cash cattle market, the additional pressure of not knowing the details of the border’s reopen will likely weigh heavily on the feeder cattle market for awhile,” Stewart said.
The CME Feeder Cattle Index was down $1.07 to $349.65.
Corn futures also closed lower, with the September contract down 12 cents to $4.51 and the December contract 13 cents lower to $4.74.
Missouri: Joplin Regional Stockyards in Carthage sold 1,451 head on Monday. Compared to the last auction, feeder steers sold $5-20 lower, with the exception of light 6- and 7-weight steers, which sold steady to $5 higher. Feeder heifers sold $10-20 lower. Benchmark steers averaging 767 lbs. sold for $345-350, averaging $347.11.
Oklahoma: Oklahoma National Stockyards in Oklahoma City sold 1,450 head on Monday. Compared to the last auction, feeder steers sold steady. Feeder heifers sold steady to $5 lower. Steer and heifer calves were steady. Benchmark steers averaging 774 lbs. sold for $349-359, averaging $354.42. — Charles Wallace, WLJ contributing editor
