Cattle Falls as Border Reopens
Live cattle futures posted $2.30 to $3.12 losses at the close on Tuesday. Cash action was mostly compiling showlists on Monday. Trade last week saw sales at $230-233 in the North and $223-225 in the South. The Tuesday morning Fed Cattle Exchange online auction showed no bids on the 1,064 head offered.
Feeder cattle futures were reacting with some negatively to the border reopening, with contracts down $4.65 to $5.10. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was up $1.00 to $315.07 on June 30. The USDA announced a risk based reopening of the border with Mexico on Monday afternoon starting on July 7. The port opening will be in phases, starting in Arizona.
USDA Wholesale Boxed Beef prices were mixed in the Tuesday afternoon report, with the Chc/Sel spread widening to $15.54. Choice boxes were up 4 cents to $395.60, while Select was quoted $4.04 lower at $380.06/cwt. USDA’s Federally inspected cattle slaughter for Tuesday was estimated at 120,000 head, with the weekly total at 238,000 head. That was 9,000 head above the previous week and 3,714 head more vs. the same week last year.
Aug 25 Live Cattle closed at $210.750, down $3.125,
Oct 25 Live Cattle closed at $207.800, down $2.375,
Dec 25 Live Cattle closed at $208.350, down $2.300,
Aug 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $306.025, down $4.650,
Sep 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $305.650, down $4.975,
Oct 25 Feeder Cattle closed at $303.425, down $5.100,
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.