Negotiated cash cattle prices declined for the third consecutive week in moderate to active trade. Cattle in the North sold mostly $176 to $177 per cwt., $2 lower. Cattle in the South traded at $172 per cwt., $1 lower. Seasonally, a decline is expected as market-ready cattle increase, but this year’s numbers are tight enough to challenge seasonal patterns.
Feeder cattle traded mixed with wide variances between regions, from $3 lower to $3 higher. Calves traded $3 lower to $4 higher.
Wholesale beef prices declined modestly. Choice boxed beef closed Friday at $309.19 per cwt., $1.92 lower for the week. Select boxed beef closed at $288.16 per cwt., down $0.18 per cwt. on the week.
Estimated weekly cattle slaughter was 623,000 head, down 38,000 head from the same week a year ago. Year-to-date slaughter was estimated to be down 3.3%.
At the CME, after surging in early trading, June live cattle futures ended Friday at $161.975, up just 35 cents on the day and down $3.50 on the week. May feeder futures fell $1.125 to end Friday at $202.525; that marked a weekly plunge of $8.45.
Analysts say packers gained some leverage this week, especially after some producers accepted the low early week bids. The Monday-Thursday average for the five-market area fell to $173.98, which represented a weekly drop of $4.63. If cattlemen have sold a lot of cattle at these levels, next week’s trading could firm, especially if recent stability in Choice beef values around $309.00 persists or is followed by seasonal strength into mid-May. Conversely, further cash losses could be forthcoming if producers limited sales and/or wholesale prices take an early turn toward the downside.
