Live cattle futures are trading with 97 cent to $1.15 gains on Monday, after gapping higher at the open. Cash activity settled in at $230-232 in the South last week, with $240-245 in the North. Feeder cattle futures are 70 cents to $1.10 higher at midday. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was back up $2.65 to $328.83 on July 24. The Monday OKC feeder cattle auction has an estimated 3,000 head for sale, with early action noted stronger.
Cattle on Feed data showed June placements down 7.86% from last year at 1.411 million head and well below estimates. Marketings were 1.707 million head and 4.42% below June 2024. July 1 on feed was tallied at 11.195 million head, down 0.96% from a year ago. The bi-annual July Cattle Inventory report was released after a hiatus last year, with July 1 beef cow inventory down 1.2% from 2023 at 28.65 million head. Beef replacement heifers were 5.1% below 2023 at 3.7 million head.
June beef stocks were tallied at 395.678 million lbs according to Cold Storage data. That was a 2.98% decline from May and 0.92% below last year.
USDA Wholesale Boxed Beef prices were back higher in the Monday AM report, with the Chc/Sel spread at $20.90. Choice boxes were quoted $1.13 higher at $367.81, while Select was down $2.04 to $346.91. USDA estimated cattle slaughter for last week at 549,000 head. That was down 14,000 head from last week and 56,176 head lower vs. the same week in 2024.
Aug 25 Live Cattle are at $227.500, up $1.025,
Oct 25 Live Cattle are at $224.125, up $0.975,
Dec 25 Live Cattle are at $224.625, up $1.150,
Aug 25 Feeder Cattle are at $332.075, up $0.700
Sep 25 Feeder Cattle are at $333.200, up $1.000
Oct 25 Feeder Cattle are at $332.100, up $1.100
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.
