Thursday markets
Livestock contracts fell sharply today despite solid fundamentals, as traders reacted to rumors that USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins will announce plans tomorrow to reopen the U.S. border to Mexican feeder cattle imports.
Cattle futures are “melting down rapidly” with live cattle showing a 500-point daily trading range and feeder cattle over 900 points, wrote market analyst Cassie Fish in The Beef. She said the drop stems from the anticipation that Rollins will announce plans tomorrow to reopen the U.S. border to Mexican feeder cattle imports while updating efforts against New World Screwworm.
Live cattle futures lost over $2, with the August contract down $2.20 to close at $233.35 and the October contract down $2.60 to $226.82.
Cash trade was moderate, with 17,998 head sold. Live steers sold for $240-246, and dressed steers sold between $380-385.
“A few cash bids are on the table as live bids are being offered at $233 in Texas,” wrote ShayLe Stewart, DTN livestock analyst, in her midday comments. “Live bids are being offered in Nebraska at $245, but no trade has developed yet following Wednesday’s movement in Nebraska, where dressed cattle were trading at $385, which is $4 higher than last week’s weighted average.”
Today’s slaughter is estimated to be 113,000 head, 2,000 head below the prior week.
Actual slaughter for the week ending Aug. 2 was 536,919 head. The average steer dressed weight was 941 lbs., the same as a week earlier.
Boxed beef prices were mixed on 89 loads, with the Choice cutout gaining $3.30 to $393.79 and the Select cutout $1.08 lower to $366.88.
USDA’s Export Sales report for the week ending Aug. 7 showed that beef net sales of 4,300 metric tons (mt) for 2025 were down 73% from the previous week and 66% from the prior four-week average. The three largest buyers were Japan (3,200 mt), South Korea (500 mt) and the Philippines (500 mt).
Feeder cattle
Feeder cattle also closed lower, with the August contract losing $5.47 to $340.40 and the September contract down $5.60 to $341.02.
“And as one would logically expect, the feeder cattle complex is also trading lower after seeing the live cattle contracts duck and run,” Stewart wrote. “Traders believed that was the best route to send the feeder cattle contracts as well. Again, this decision is solely one being made on technical indications, as demand in the countryside remains nearly unfathomable for feeder cattle.”
The CME Feeder Cattle Index was $1.40 higher to close at $344.09.
Corn futures closed relatively steady, with the September contract up a penny $3.75 and the December contract unchanged at $3.97.
Kansas: Winter Livestock in Dodge City sold 667 head on Wednesday. Compared to the last sale, steers under 700 lbs. sold sharply higher on limited comparisons and over 800 lbs. were not well tested. Heifers over 700 lbs. sold $5-8 higher and under 700 lbs. sold steady with a softer undertone. A group of steers averaging 622 lbs. sold for $390.
Nebraska: Huss Livestock in Kearney sold 2,192 head on Wednesday. Compared to the last auction two weeks ago, steers over 600 lbs. sold unevenly steady and heifers over 600 lbs. sold $5-10 higher. Benchmark steers averaging 768 lbs. sold for $359-374, averaging $369.21.
Oklahoma: OKC West in El Reno sold 6,037 head on Wednesday. Compared to the previous auction, feeder steers sold $4-10 higher and feeder heifers traded $2-8 higher. Steer and heifer calves sold $5-15 higher, with the biggest advancement on steer calves and bigger heifer calves. Benchmark steers averaging 715 lbs. sold for $368-380, averaging $370.51. — Charles Wallace, WLJ contributing editor
