Live cattle futures were down $5.62 to $6.90 in most contracts on Tuesday. Cash activity kicked off on Tuesday with light sales of $375-378 in the North, down $5 from last week. Southern trade has been quiet. Due to limit losses in the feeders, Wednesday will see expanded limits of $10.75. Preliminary open interest data showed long liquidation, down 8,200 contracts.
Feeder cattle futures fell the $9.25 limit across the board on the Tuesday session. Limits will be expanded to $13.75 on Wednesday. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was back down $1.17 at $365.86 on September 8. The Monday OKC feeder cattle auction showed 9,381 head sold. Feeders were steady to $4 lower, with calves steady to down $2-6.
A revision lower in the jobs growth data by 911,000 through March this morning gave some of the bulls a spook over economic concerns.
USDA Wholesale Boxed Beef prices were mixed again in the Tuesday PM report, with the Chc/Sel spread narrowing to $20.71. Choice boxes were down $2.02 at $407.67, while Select was $1.62 higher to $386.96. USDA federally inspected cattle slaughter for Tuesday was estimated 118,000 head, with the weekly total at 224,000. That was well above last week due to the Monday holiday but 17,111 head lower vs. the same week in 2024.
Oct 25 Live Cattle closed at $230.175, down $5.625,
Dec 25 Live Cattle closed at $231.175, down $6.400,
Feb 26 Live Cattle closed at $232.350, down $6.875,
Sep 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $351.700, down $9.250,
Oct 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $349.925, down $9.250,
Nov 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $348.875, down $9.250,
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.
