Cattle Rally to Contract Highs Despite Beef Losses

Austin Schroeder Barchart Wed Jul 16, 3:57PM CDT
Man feeding cows on farm in cowshed by JackF via iStock

Live cattle futures posted contract highs on Wednesday, with contracts closing up $1.40 to $1.50. Cash trade has yet to kick off this week, with southern bids near $225-228 and the North at $235. Some light trade was picked up in KS at $2.30 Feeder cattle closed out the Wednesday trade with contracts $3 to $3.50 higher. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was back up 81 cents to $321.91 on July 15. 

USDA Wholesale Boxed Beef prices were lower in the Wednesday afternoon report, with the Chc/Sel spread shrinking to $14.94. Choice boxes (600-900 lb) were down $4.87 to $372.85, while Select was quoted $4.67 lower at $357.91/cwt. USDA estimated cattle slaughter for Wednesday at 117,000 head, with the weekly total at 347,000. That was 2,000 head below last week and 15,553 head lower vs. the same week last year.

Aug 25 Live Cattle  closed at $223.900, up $1.500,

Oct 25 Live Cattle  closed at $220.750, up $1.475,

Dec 25 Live Cattle  closed at $221.025, up $1.425,

Aug 25 Feeder Cattle  closed at $325.575, up $3.300,

Sep 25 Feeder Cattle  closed at $325.850, up $3.475,

Oct 25 Feeder Cattle  closed at $323.975, up $3.500,


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.