Friday markets
Markets traded mostly sideways today.
Live cattle futures were down today. The October contract lost 17 cents to close at $120.40, and the December contract lost 52 cents to close at $125.20.
“The concern that live cattle futures are trading at four- to five-month lows heading into the fourth quarter is creating uncertainty in the market,” Rick Kment, DTN contributing analyst, wrote in his midday comments.
“Overall beef demand is still expected to remain strong through both the end of 2021 and well into 2022, creating the current price levels expected to be at a significant discount. Even though nearby live cattle futures remain ‘oversold’ given the price retraction in the last six weeks, there is no indication yet that significant reentering has started to develop by either commercial or noncommercial traders.”
A handful of cash cattle traded today. A total of 6,452 head sold, with live steers selling between $122-123 and dressed steers selling between $192-196. On the formula side, a total of 28,000 head averaging 869 lbs. averaged $199.84.
Slaughter for the day is estimated at just 107,000 head. Tomorrow’s slaughter is expected to be 57,000 head, slightly more than last week. With tomorrow’s slaughter, the week’s total number is expected to be 637,000 head. This is a few thousand head short of a week ago (641,000 head) and many thousand head short of a year ago (664,000 head).
Boxed beef prices were lower on 114 loads. The Choice cutout lost $2.62 to $292.36, and the Select cutout lost $4.48 to $264.84.
Feeder cattle
Feeder cattle futures traded mostly sideways with the end of the September contract. The October contract was 20 cents higher to close at $152.75, and the November contract was unchanged at $152.90. The CME Feeder Cattle Index lost 6 cents to close at $153.72.
Corn futures were mildly higher, with the December contract up 4 cents to $5.41 and the March contract up 5 cents to $5.49.
“It will take a consistent string of upward movement in the feeder and live cattle markets over the next several days to rekindle firm market support in the complex,” Kment said.
Nebraska: Ogallala Livestock Auction in Ogallala sold 5,500 head yesterday. There was no comparison to a week ago due to no sale held. Demand was good on a nice offering. Benchmark steers averaging 827 lbs. sold between $154-160, averaging $156.68. — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
