Minimal early week trading gave the impression cattle markets would finish a disappointing steady. A late-week rally in futures markets, however, left packers ready to pay up.
Cattle in the North traded at $184 to $185 per cwt. live and $292 per cwt. dressed, $1 to $2 higher for the week. Sales in the South occurred at $182 to $183 per cwt. live, $2 to $3 higher.
Feeder cattle sold $2 to $5 per cwt. higher, and calves sold $2 to $6 higher.
Estimated cattle slaughter for the week ending Sept. 16 was 632,000 head, down nearly 40,000 head from the same week a year ago. Year-to-date slaughter was estimated at 23.002 million head, down 4.3% from last year.
At the CME, nearby live cattle and feeder futures ended the week at fresh all-time highs. October live cattle surged $1.45 to $186.925 at the close on Friday; that marked a weekly advance of $3.70. October feeder futures jumped $2.60 on Friday to $264.475, which represented a weekly rise of $5.325.
Wholesale beef prices declined for the week. Choice boxed beef closed Friday at $305.71 per cwt., down $7.19 for the week. Select boxed beef closed Friday at $283.12 per cwt., down $2.93 for the week.
Traders see another potential price advance next week for finished cattle as feedlot supplies remain tight and they see a probable diminished availability of contracted cattle to packers.
