Cattle Fade Lower into the Weekend
Live cattle were lower on Friday as contracts pulled off midday lows to close with 12 to 70 cent losses. August was still up $1.35 this week. Cash trade was light this week, with trade picked up in KS at $230-231 and $240-242 northern action. Feeder cattle posted losses of $1 to $1.50 on Friday, with August down $1.32 on the week. CME Feeder Cattle Index was back up 11 cents to $322.28 on July 17.
Commitment of Traders data from CFTC showed managed money increasing their record net long in feeder cattle futures and options as of July 15 by just 79 contracts to 37,569 contracts. Spec funds added back another 4,063 contracts to their net long in live cattle by July 15 to 132,486 contracts.
USDA Wholesale Boxed Beef prices were mixed in the Friday afternoon report. Choice boxes were up $0.27 to $375, while Select was quoted $2.35 lower at $351.49/cwt. USDA estimated cattle slaughter this week at 563,000 head. That was down 5,000 head from last week and 26,374 head lower vs. the same week in 2024.
Aug 25 Live Cattle closed at $223.550, down $0.125,
Oct 25 Live Cattle closed at $219.825, down $0.500,
Dec 25 Live Cattle closed at $219.800, down $0.700,
Aug 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $324.000, down $1.000,
Sep 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $324.200, down $1.225,
Oct 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $322.300, down $1.375,
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.