Cattle Look to Wednesday Trade
Live cattle futures closed mixed on Tuesday, with June up 7 cents and other contracts down as much as $1.05. Preliminary open interest was down 1,025 contracts on Tuesday, with June down 3,261 contracts and 2,453 contracts heading out of August. There were no deliveries issued against June cattle on Tuesday. Cash trade has yet to see much action this week, with some light $235 reported in the South. An ICE raid on an Omaha packing plant gave the market a spook.
Feeder cattle futures were $1.50 to $2.05 higher on Tuesday, well off the midday lows. Preliminary OI was up 2,177 contracts. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was up $3.58 on June 9 with an average price of $314.04.
USDA’s National Wholesale Boxed Beef prices were higher on Tuesday afternoon, widening the Chc/Sel spread to $11.92. Choice boxes were back up $4.51 at $371.76, while Select was quoted 91 cents higher at $358.84/cwt. USDA’s Federally inspected cattle slaughter for Tuesday was estimated at 119,000 head, with the weekly total 231,000 head. That is 5,000 head below the week prior on a revised Monday total and 14,562 head below the same week last year.
Jun 25 Live Cattle closed at $227.075, up $0.075,
Aug 25 Live Cattle closed at $218.200, down $1.050,
Oct 25 Live Cattle closed at $215.650, down $0.225,
Aug 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $313.150, up $1.500,
Sep 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $312.750, up $2.050,
Oct 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $310.550, up $2.175,
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.