Thursday markets
Cattle futures closed higher as traders found room to modestly advance contracts despite no fundamental changes.
“Nothing has changed fundamentally to incentivize traders to be more supportive of the futures—but rather they see an opportunity to mildly advance the contracts without any major technical pressure looming,” ShayLe Stewart, DTN livestock analyst, wrote in her midday comments.
Live cattle futures closed higher, with the August contract up $220.30, the October contract $2.15 higher to $212.92 and the December contract up $2.22 to $214.80.
Cash trade was light, with 1,164 head sold. Live steers sold from $216-220, and dressed steers sold for $341. On the formula side, 26,300 head averaging 952 lbs. sold for an average of $361.67.
“The fed cash cattle market remains idle with only a single bid renewed at this point in Nebraska at $220,” Steward said. “Otherwise, the market remains quiet, with no new trade developed. The only confident test we’ve seen on the market thus far has been in the North where dressed cattle are trading at mostly $345, which is $10 lower than last week’s weighted average.”
Actual slaughter for the week ending Aug. 15 was 516,393 head. The average steers dressed weight was 966 lbs., down 1 lb. from the previous week.
Today’s slaughter was estimated to be 105,000 head, 5,000 head above last week.
Boxed beef prices were lower on 104 loads, with the Choice cutout down $3.77 to $381.36 and the Select cutout $3.49 lower to $359.19.
“Boxed beef values are seasonally declining, printing down $1.66 at $383.47 at midday,” wrote Cassie Fish, market analyst, in The Beef. “Further downside is expected well into September. But packer margins are black and are expected to stay that way. This should result in increased slaughter levels with this week estimated at 532k, the largest since June.”
“The Trump administration released the details of its proclamation that calls to remove import in-quota rate of duty on 330,000 metric tons or 661M pounds of imported lean beef trimmings,” Fish continued. “The beef will be brought in during September, October and November at a 25% discount to the domestic beef trimmings market. Last week, imported trimmings were selling on average 23% cheaper than domestic trimmings. No specific countries were mentioned. The U.S. is already on course to import over 6 billion pounds of beef trimmings in 2026, a record.”
Feeder cattle
Feeder cattle futures also closed higher, with the August contract up $1 to $333.75, the September contract $3.45 higher to $322.45 and the October contract up $3.82 to $318.07.
The CME Feeder Cattle Index was down $1.19 to $334.27.
Corn futures ended their streak closing lower, with the September and December contracts down 3 cents to $5.10 and $5.33, respectively.
Kansas: Winter Livestock in Dodge City sold 883 head on Wednesday. Compared to the previous auction, steers over 800 lbs. sold $5-10 lower and heifers over 700 lbs. sold $5-10 lower. Benchmark steers averaging 717 lbs. sold for $355.50-360, averaging $357.98.
Nebraska: Huss Livestock in Kearney sold 1,586 head on Wednesday. Compared to the last auction two weeks ago, feeder steers and heifers sold sharply lower on the day. Some comparable weights sold $20 lower. Demand was mostly moderate. Benchmark steers averaging 730 lbs. sold for $351-362, averaging $353.72.
New Mexico: Clovis Livestock in Clovis sold 2,003 head on Thursday. Compared to the previous auction, steer calves sold lower, except for 450-500 lbs., which traded $2 higher. Feeder steers sold $13-20 lower. Heifer calves and feeder heifers sold $8-17 lower. Benchmark steers averaging 709 lbs. sold for $310-331, averaging $322.35.
Oklahoma: OKC West in El Reno sold 4,657 head on Wednesday. Compared to the last auction, feeder steers sold $4-8 lower. Feeder heifers sold steady to $4 lower. Benchmark steers averaging 773 lbs. sold between $331-337.50, averaging $333.21. — Charles Wallace, WLJ contributing editor
