Live cattle futures settled the Thursday session with 20 cents to $1 losses. Cash trade has been slower this week, with light action on Thursday at $199 in the South and $315 dressed in the North. Feeder cattle futures bounced off some lows into Thursday’s close with contracts still down $1.75 to $2.25 The CME Feeder Cattle Index was up another 30 cents on February 19 at $278.81.
Friday’s afternoon’s cattle on Feed report is expected to show a drop of 0.8% from the year prior as of February 1. Placements in January are expected to be up 2.2%, with marketings up 2.1%.
The Thursday afternoon National Wholesale Boxed Beef report was lower, as the Chc/Sel spread was tighter at $9.45. Choice boxes were another $1.26 lower at $312.63/cwt, with Select down 58 cents to $303.18. The Thursday Federally inspected cattle slaughter was estimated at 117,000 head, taking the week to date total to 447,000 head. That is down 7,000 head from the previous week and 13,012 head below the same week last year.
Feb 25 Live Cattle closed at $197.625, down $0.200,
Apr 25 Live Cattle closed at $193.800, down $0.975,
Jun 25 Live Cattle closed at $189.975, down $0.950,
Mar 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $266.825, down $2.200,
Apr 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $266.375, down $2.225,
May 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $265.075, down $1.975,
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.More news from Barchart
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