Friday markets
Markets were quiet today, with some mixed trade.
Live cattle futures continued to rally today. The October contract gained 22 cents to close at $125.97, and the December contract gained 67 cents to close at $130.97.
There was a small amount of cash trade today, with 1,585 head averaging $124. Dressed steers sold for $193. On the formula side, a total of 19,000 head averaging 868 lbs. sold for an average of $199.08.
“Cash prices for the week appear to be generally steady with last week’s levels at $124 live and $196 dressed, but it will be interesting once average prices are listed Monday to see if market firmness once again developed,” wrote Rick Kment, DTN contributing analyst, in his midday comments.
“This could spark further longer-term market support and lead to a trend of higher prices through the rest of the year.”
Slaughter for the day is expected to be 107,000 head, several thousand head short of the same time a week ago. Tomorrow’s slaughter is projected at 59,000 head, bringing the total to 646,000 head.
Boxed beef prices were marginally lower today on 154 loads. The Choice cutout lost 8 cents to close at $280.24, and the Select cutout lost 6 cents to close at $260.62.
Feeder cattle
Feeder cattle futures were in the red today. The October contract lost 85 cents to close at $157.57, and the November contract lost 72 cents to close at $161.42. The CME Feeder Cattle Index lost 66 cents to close at $153.35.
“Traders are focusing on overall production costs at the end of the week, but also some end-of-week adjustments are seen Friday following the firm market rally since the first of October,” Kment said.
“Traders are looking for price stability and developing a sustainable market range through the near future.”
Corn futures found some gains. The December contract gained 9 cents to close at $5.25, and the March contract gained 8 cents to close at $5.34.
South Dakota: Herreid Livestock Market in Herreid sold 1,633 head on Friday. This was the first reported sale in recent weeks, so an accurate price trend was not established. There was good to very good demand for today’s average-to-attractive quality yearling offering. The feature consignment was 1,000 steers off grass, several other loads and many packages made up the rest of the offering. Benchmark steers averaging 928 lbs. sold between $157.75-161.25 and averaged $160.73. — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
