Live cattle futures faded into the Friday close, settling down $1.52 to $2.47 on the day, as traders were lightning up ahead of the monthly Cattle on Feed report. Cash trade was on the move on Friday, up $7-8 from last week in the South at $210. Northern business came in at $212 to $216, $6-9 improvement wk/wk. Feeder cattle futures were pulling back ahead of the Cattle on Feed report, closing down $1.87 to $4. March was still up $4.50 on the week. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was up another $1.84 on March 20, with the average price at $287.78
The monthly Cattle on Feed report showed February placements at 1.554 million head, down 17.78% from last year and below the average trade estimate. Feb marketings were down 8.92% at 1.663 million head. March 1 on feed data came in at 11.577 million head, down 2.2% compared to the level last year and below estimate of a 1.7% decline.
Commodity Bulletin: From crude oil to coffee, this FREE newsletter is for industry pros and rookies alike
Commitment of Trader data from this afternoon showed a total of 7,359 contracts added to the net long in live cattle futures and options as of March 18. That took the net long to 120,175 contracts. Speculators in Feeder cattle continue to build their record net long, up another 1,138 contracts to 31,197 contracts as of Tuesday.
USDA’s National Wholesale Boxed Beef report was mixed on Friday afternoon, as the Chc/Sel narrowed to at $15.83. Choice boxes were down $2.61 to $325.45/cwt, with Select 26 cents higher at $309.62. This week’s Federally inspected cattle slaughter was estimated at 560,000 head by USDA. That is 24,000 head below the previous week, and down 32,712 from the same week last year.
Apr 25 Live Cattle closed at $206.950, down $1.525,
Jun 25 Live Cattle closed at $202.775, down $2.250,
Aug 25 Live Cattle closed at $199.350, down $2.475,
Mar 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $286.475, down $1.875,
Apr 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $284.975, down $3.475,
May 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $285.100, down $4.000,
On the date of publication,
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.
More news from Barchart
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
