Cattle Futures Keep Setting Futures Records

Article by Trey Freeman from Ever.ag in BEEF Magazine

Packers were quick to show interest in the cash market last week, with bids starting at $250 per hundredweight live early in the week. Cattle feeders held out for more, helping drive live and feeder cattle futures sharply higher on Monday and Tuesday before taking a breather mid-week. Packers were able to secure enough cattle by Wednesday that cash markets were mostly done by then.  

The aggressive buying in futures resumed Friday morning, with live and feeder cattle futures surging to record highs once more before dropping into the close, with live cattle posting a bearish key reversal. June live cattle futures finished the week with a gain of $7.775 per hundredweight. August settled higher, up $6.175. May and August feeder cattle futures finished the week $10.50 and $10.40 per hundredweight higher, respectively. Open interest in live cattle futures increased by 20,569 contracts last week, likely a function of aggressive buying from managed money.

Cash fed cattle traded $254 to $256 per hundredweight in the South, $8 to $9 higher than the week prior. In the North, cash traded $252 to $256 per hundredweight, up $6 to $8. Dressed trade in the North occurred at $400 per hundredweight, up $14 from the week prior.

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