Live cattle are falling on Thursday, with contracts down $3.20 to $4.05. The Thursday Fed Cattle Exchange online auction showed no sales on the 1,602 head offered, with bids of $235-236. Cash movement has been quiet. Feeder cattle futures are down $4.32 to $5.02 in the front months on the day. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was back down 44 cents to $374.57 on February 3.
Late on Wednesday, workers at the Greeley, CO JBS plant (~5,000 hd/day) voted to authorize a strike, though they did not give specifics on a timeline of when said strike would begin.
USDA reported 19,748 MT of beef sold in the week ending on 1/29. That was the largest so far in the calendar year. Shipments were tallied at just 12,992 MT, which was 3.32% above the previous week, but down 34.53% from the same week last year.
Wholesale Boxed Beef prices were lower in the Thursday morning report, with the Chc/Sel spread at $6.19. Choice boxes were down 82 cents to $367.20, while Select was $1.08 lower at $361.01. USDA reported federally inspected cattle slaughter at 113,000 head for Wednesday, with the weekly total at 336,000 head. That is 12,000 head above last week but 20,175 head shy of the same week last year.
Feb 26 Live Cattle are at $237.075, down $3.450,
Apr 26 Live Cattle are at $237.750, down $4.050,
Jun 26 Live Cattle are at $234.025, down $3.200,
Mar 26 Feeder Cattle are at $365.750, down $4.325
Apr 26 Feeder Cattle are at $362.475, down $5.025
May 26 Feeder Cattle are at $358.725, down $5.025
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.
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