Cattle Pulled Lower into Tuesday’s Close

Live cattle closed the Tuesday session with contracts 37 to 97 cents lower. Feeders were down 82 cents to $1.42, as they faltered to weakness. There are still no deliveries issued against Feb cattle, as CME confirmed the oldest dated long is now 11/27. Cash trade last week hovered around the $180-183 range, with most exchanging hands around $182. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was up 81 cents on February 12 to $246.87. 

USDA’s Wholesale Boxed Beef prices were lower in the Tuesday PM report. Choice boxes were down $1.81 to $292.27/cwt, with Select $1.72 lower at $287.30. The Chc/Sel spread has narrowed down to $6.97. USDA estimated FI cattle slaughter at 125,000 head for Tuesday, which brought the week-to-date total to 240,000 head. That is down 10,000 head from last week and was 8,835 head behind the same week last year.  

Feb 24 Cattle  closed at $183.750, down $0.500,

Apr 24 Cattle  closed at $185.100, down $0.825,

Jun 24 Cattle  closed at $182.550, down $0.975,

Mar 24 Feeder Cattle  closed at $248.000, down $0.825

Apr 24 Feeder Cattle  closed at $251.750, down $1.425

On the date of publication, Alan Brugler 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.