Download PDF If one was to only look at the LC futures board this week, they might come to the conclusion that this was a good week for the cattle and beef complex. The reality is not so much. While the Feb futures was busy adding $2.50/cwt, the Choice cutout lost $6.20/cwt. and the Select …
Download PDF Cattle feeders managed to press a little more money out of thepackers this week as average live steer prices were about $0.75higher to $152.70/cwt. Packers did take on a large volume at thatprice and should now be well positioned to run a big kill next week.The cutouts were steady to slightly higher, with …
Download PDF The cash cattle market took some time to catch its breath this week,with prices almost steady with last week and near $152/cwt. At thesame time, the Choice cutout was up $2.54/cwt. and the Selectgained $3.47/cwt. Prior to this week, cash cattle were up a total of$5/cwt. in the previous two weeks, so it …
Download PDF The seasonal increase in beef prices got underway in earnest thisweek, with the Choice cutout gaining $9.26/cwt. and the Selectcutout up $7.69/cwt. Of course, when cattle feeders saw that,they wanted their piece of the pie, and they got it. Cash cattleprices advanced almost $2/cwt. to finish the week very close to$152/cwt. Since the …
Download PDF The cash cattle market surged higher this week, jumping $3/cwt. toaverage just over $150. Packers were short on cattle due to havingpurchased a rather light volume the week before. It also looks likethey are holding a relatively big forward book that they will need todeliver on in the next few weeks, so that …
Download PDF The beef market just seems to be going nowhere. This week, theChoice cutout averaged 246.31/cwt, down $0.58 from last week.This is the third week in a row that the Choice cutout has beenstuck at $246+change. The Select cutout was a lot weakerhowever, down $4.37 on the week. Apparently no one wantsSelect grade beef. …
Download PDF It was a pretty quiet week in the beef market with the Choicecutout only gaining $0.16/cwt. on a weekly average basis and theSelect cutout losing $1.62/cwt. As a result, the blended cutoutwas just a few cents lower on the week. The cash cattle marketwas stronger, averaging close to $146, which was about $1.20/cwt …
Download PDF The margin squeeze on beef packers is getting more intense. Thisweek’s margin only registered $68/head and next week could beeven smaller. That is the result of a mostly steady cash cattlemarket and falling beef cutouts. The Choice cutout lost $3.25/cwt.and the Select was down $3.40/cwt. The fact that cash cattle wereable to trade …
Download PDF It was another bad week for packers, with the cutouts tracking lowerand the cash cattle market moving higher. On a weekly averagebasis, the Choice cutout lost $4.78/cwt. and the Select cutout wasdown $7.07/cwt. Cash cattle averaged about $1.30/cwt. over lastweek and packers bought a lot more animals than they did the weekbefore. Perhaps …
Download PDF The cash cattle market was essentially steady this week, averaging$142.79, up $0.31 from last week. Prices in the North were steadyto slightly lower and prices in the South were steady to slightlyhigher. The price gap between the North and South has narrowedto the point where it isn’t much of an issue anymore. The …