Live cattle futures saw a mixed Friday close, as contracts were steady to 25 cents lower and deferreds up 40 to 50 cents. October was down $1.77 last week. Cash trade settled in at $235 in the North last week, $3 lower, with Southern action at $235-237, down $3. The Friday Fed Cattle Exchange online auction showed no sales on the 2,144 head offered, with bids at $235-235.50. Feeder cattle futures posted gains of $1.50 to $2.95 on Friday, as October was still up $2.90 last week. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was up 94 cents at $365.04 on September 25.
USDA’s Cold Storage report from Friday showed beef stocks on August 31 at 393,802 million lbs. That was a 1.01% drop from July but was 1.52% above the same period last year.
The weekly Commitment of Traders report from CFTC showed spec traders in live cattle futures and options trimming back their net long position by 2,844 contracts to 124,903 contracts as of Tuesday. In feeder cattle, the net long position continues to dwindle down, last week by 1,564 contracts to 24,327 contracts, as the number of outright longs dropped to the lowest since April, with the number of outright shorts the highest since last November.
USDA Wholesale Boxed Beef prices were lower on Friday afternoon, with the Chc/Sel spread widening to $18.99. Choice boxes were down 54 cents at $371.43, while Select was $1.01 lower to $352.44. USDA federally inspected cattle slaughter for last week was estimated at 555,000 head. That was 3,000 head above last week but 60,922 head below the same week in 2024.
Oct 25 Live Cattle closed at $231.800, down $0.250,
Dec 25 Live Cattle closed at $234.300, unch
Feb 26 Live Cattle closed at $236.500, up $0.450,
Oct 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $357.000, up $2.950,
Nov 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $354.475, up $2.250,
Jan 26 Feeder Cattle closed at $347.825, up $1.875,
On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder 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.
