Thursday markets
Cattle futures spent most of the trading day lower but turned around prior to the close.
Live cattle closed higher, with the April contract up 67 cents to $235.10 and the June contract 95 cents higher to $234.80.
Cash trade was moderate, with 6,459 head sold. Live steers sold for $234-235, and dressed steers sold between $370-372.
On the formula side, 20,500 head averaging 949 lbs. sold for an average of $374.64.
“Today, packers started out bidding lower, and a little trade has developed at steady,” Cassie Fish, market analyst, wrote in The Beef. “Expectations are that this will be another week of small negotiated fed cattle trade volume.”
Today’s slaughter is estimated to be 97,000 head, 9,000 head below a week earlier.
Actual slaughter for the week ending Mar. 14 was 526,525 head. The average steer dressed weight was 989 lbs., up 3 lbs. from the prior week.
Boxed beef prices were lower on 93 loads, with the Choice cutout $1.84 lower to $389.85 and the Select cutout down $3.83 to $391.66.
“Boxed beef prices got a lot of attention yesterday as Choice plunged, now $13/cwt off of last week’s high and trading at a discount to Select,” Fish wrote. “The Select cutout quietly made an all-time, non-COVID high last week. The biggest loser yesterday was the Choice rib, down over $40/cwt from the prior day, a key driver in the Choice/Select spread.”
Feeder cattle
Feeder cattle futures also closed up, with the March contract $1.65 higher to close at $363.52, the April contract up $1.72 to $355.07, and the May contract up $1.70 to $351.75.
The CME Feeder Cattle Index was 19 cents higher to $361.78.
Corn futures closed on both sides of steady, with the May contract down a fraction to $4.67 and the July contract up a fraction at $4.78.
Kansas: Winter Livestock in Dodge City sold 2,929 head on Wednesday. Compared to the previous auction, steers over 750 lbs. and heifers over 700 lbs. sold steady, and a weak undertone was noted. Steer and heifer calves were not well tested. Benchmark steers averaging 765 lbs. sold between $359-380.50, averaging $373.64.
Nebraska: Huss Livestock in Kearney sold 2,197 head on Wednesday. Compared to the last auction, steers and heifers over 700 lbs. sold steady to $5 higher. Benchmark steers averaging 766 lbs. sold between $376-390, averaging $383.04.
Oklahoma: OKC West in El Reno sold 7,046 head on Wednesday. Compared to the last auction, feeder steers sold unevenly steady. Feeder heifers sold steady to $3 lower. Steer calves traded $10-15 higher. Heifer calves steady sold $5 higher. Stocker heifers traded $10 higher. Benchmark steers averaging 717 lbs. sold between $392-402, averaging $396.55. — Charles Wallace, WLJ contributing editor
