Cattle Current Market Update With Wes Ishmael

Negotiated cash fed cattle trade remained undeveloped through Tuesday afternoon, based on USDA reports. Recent fundamentals and this week’s winter storms suggest prices should be no worse than steady. Cattle futures mostly edged higher, amid light trade and waiting for cash direction. Live Cattle futures closed an average of 52¢ higher, with open interest [...]

Logic suggested markets should view Friday’s Cattle on Feed as at least neutral, with placements 2% less than expected. However, the fact that placements were 10% higher year over year also suggested there might be an opportunity for bears to press their case with follow-through selling. Instead, Cattle futures climbed higher to start the [...]

The widely expected significant increase in October feedlot placements was confirmed in Friday’s monthly Cattle on Feed report. Although less than most expected, positioning ahead of the report provided the opportunity some had been seeking for a market correction. Live Cattle futures closed an average of $1.52 lower Feeder Cattle futures closed an average [...]

For the week so far, negotiated cash fed cattle trade is mainly $1 higher on a live basis at $116/cwt. in the Southern Plains and at $115-$117 up north. Dressed trade is $2 higher at $184. Cattle futures closed lower Thursday, though, especially Feeder Cattle, as wholesale beef values show signs of seasonal weakening, [...]

Negotiated cash fed cattle trade developed in the Southern Plains Wednesday at $116/cwt., which was $1 higher than last week. That matched optimism in the weekly Fed Cattle Exchange Auction, where 1,229 head—three lots each from Kansas and Nebraska—sold out of 1,398 head: 283 head for a weighted average price of $116/cwt. (delivery at [...]

Cattle futures closed narrowly mixed Tuesday with most of the pressure coming toward the front of the board, but remaining channel bound. After 7¢ higher in spot Dec and then 5¢ to 22¢ lower in the next three contracts, Live Cattle futures closed an average of 44¢ higher.  Other than an average of 26¢ [...]

Last week’s weighted average 5-area direct price for fed steers was 59¢ higher at $115.19/cwt. on a live basis and 68¢ higher in the beef at $181.72. Cattle futures firmed to start the week, helped along by the Tyson announcement regarding the reopening of its Kansas plant (see below). Other than 40¢ and 2¢ [...]

Negotiated cash fed cattle trade ended the week mainly steady to $1 higher at $115/cwt. on a live basis and at $182 in the beef, based on USDA reports. There were 1,264 head offered in a Friday edition of the Fed Cattle Exchange auction, and no takers. Cattle futures traded sideways and closed marginally [...]

Negotiated cash fed cattle trade on Thursday continued steady with last week in Nebraska and the western Corn Belt at mostly $115/cwt. on a live basis. Dressed sales were steady to $1 higher at $182. Cattle futures strengthened on Thursday, regaining some of the losses from the previous session, with continued overall strength in [...]

Negotiated cash fed cattle trade developed in the Southern Plains Wednesday with prices steady to $1 higher at $115/cwt. on a live basis. There were 1,393 head offered in the weekly Fed Cattle Exchange Auction, and no takers. Two lots from the Southern Plains were passed at bids of $115.00 and $115.50/cwt. Choice steers [...]

Cattle futures traded either side of steady on Tuesday, awaiting further direction from the cash market. Live Cattle futures closed narrowly mixed but mostly marginally higher, from an average of 8¢ lower to an average of 11¢ higher. Feeder Cattle futures closed narrowly mixed, from 17¢ lower to 22¢ higher. Currently strong market fundamentals [...]

Cattle futures firmed and gained on Monday, supported by currently positive fundamentals, including seasonal strength for wholesale beef values and cash fed cattle prices. Live Cattle futures closed an average of 56¢ higher. Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of 92¢ higher (57¢ to $1.25 higher). Wholesale beef values were weak on Choice and [...]

Cash fed cattle trade ended the week at $114-$115/cwt. in the Southern Plains, which was mainly $2 higher in Kansas and $2-$3 higher in the Texas Panhandle. In Nebraska, live trade was unevenly steady at $114-$116. Prices in the western Corn Belt were $1-$2 higher at $114-$115. Dressed trade was $1-$2 higher at $181-$182. [...]

Negotiated cash fed cattle trade remained largely undeveloped through Thursday afternoon, based on USDA reports. There was some early dressed trade in Nebraska at $181-$182/cwt., which was $1-$2 higher than last week. Although too few to trend, there were also some dressed sales in the western Corn Belt at $181-$182 and some live at [...]

Negotiated cash fed cattle trade remained undeveloped through Wednesday afternoon, but early indications were positive. Choice steers and heifers sold $1.75-$2.00 higher at the fat auction in Tama, IA. There were 192 head of Ch 2-4 steers weighing an average of 1,455 lbs. that brought an average price of $116.28/cwt. That was $2-$3 higher [...]

Cattle futures faded early pressure to close mainly narrowly mixed on Tuesday, supported by the continued surge in beef cutout values and the outlook for steady to higher cash fed cattle prices this week. Except for 62¢ lower in spot Dec and 52¢ higher at the back of the board, Live Cattle futures closed [...]

When all was said and done last week, negotiated cash fed cattle sales ended up $2 higher on a live basis in the Southern Plains at $112/cwt., mostly $5 higher in Nebraska at mostly $115 and $3-$4 higher in the western Corn Belt at $113-$114. Dressed sales were mostly $5 higher at mostly $180. [...]

Negotiated cash fed cattle trade remained undeveloped in the North through Friday afternoon, based on USDA reports. Although there were too few transactions to trend, a few live sales in the western Corn Belt were at $112-$114/cwt. and a few dressed sales in Nebraska were at $180. Compared to the previous week, that was [...]

Except for some scattered sales in Kansas on Thursday—steady with the previous day’s higher market in the Southern Plains at $112/cwt.—negotiated cash fed cattle trade remained undeveloped, based on USDA reports. Cattle futures pulled back from the strong rally the previous day, pressured by outside markets on new doubts about a U.S.-China trade deal. [...]

Negotiated cash fed cattle trade developed in the Southern Plains Wednesday at $112/cwt. on a live basis. That was $2 more than the bulk of last week’s trade in the region. Likewise, there were four lots of heifers (433 head) offered in the weekly Fed Cattle Exchange Auction, for delivery at 1-9 days. Two [...]