Cattle Post Midweek Strength
Live cattle posted Wednesday strength of 7 to 40 cents across the board, following more boxed beef strength. Cash action has been quiet this week. The Central Stockyards Fed Cattle Exchange saw no sales on the 1,352 head listed on Wednesday morning, with bids of $181-181.25 and asks in the $185-186 range. Very light $184 trade was picked up in KS on Wednesday. Feeders were up 20 to 65 cents in the Wednesday session, as May slipped 12 cents lower. The CME Feeder Cattle index was up 4 cents on May 14 to $241.79.
USDA’s Wholesale Boxed Beef prices were higher again in the Wednesday afternoon report. Choice boxes were up another $2.38 at $306.77, with Select 49 cents higher to $294.31. That raised the Chc/Sel spread to $12.46. USDA estimated federally inspected cattle slaughter at 124,000 head for Wednesday, taking the weekly total to 363,000. That is down 4,000 head from last week and 15,165 head below the same week last year.
Jun 24 Live Cattle closed at $178.250, up $0.075,
Aug 24 Live Cattle closed at $176.525, up $0.400,
Oct 24 Live Cattle closed at $179.700, up $0.350,
May 24 Feeder Cattle closed at $243.150, down $0.125,
Aug 24 Feeder Cattle closed at $255.875, up $0.200,
Sep 24 Feeder Cattle closed at $256.950, up $0.325,
On the date of publication, Alan Brugler did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.