Cash Cattle Trade Lower, COF Down 3 Percent
Cash fed cattle traded lower in moderate volumes for the second consecutive week. Cattle in the North sold mainly at $182 to $183 per cwt. live, $2 to $3 lower, and mostly $290 to $292 dressed, $3 to $5 lower. Trade in the South was called moderate at $180 per cwt., $2 lower. Feeder cattle sold steady to $6 lower and calves mostly $1 to $7 lower.
Wholesale beef prices traded lower for the week. Choice boxed beef closed Friday at $334.01 per cwt., down $9.08 for the week. Select boxed beef closed Friday at $299.96 per cwt., down $10.99 for the week.
Cattle futures ended the week on a mixed note, with the expiring June contract dipping 15 cents to $177.50 and most-active August sagging 37.5 cents to $170.775. The closing price represented a weekly drop of 95 cents. In contrast, tumbling grain prices triggered a commensurate jump in feeder futures; the August contract ended the week at $233.95, up $3.275 on the day, but down 97.5 cents on the week.
Cattle on feed in feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 11.6 million head on June 1, 2023, down 3% from the same period last year. Placements during May totaled 1.96 million head, 5% higher than 2022. Marketings during May totaled 1.95 million head, 2% higher than last year.
Traders expected the on feed number would be down more than the actual number with placements and marketings posting 1.7% and 1.6% annual increases, respectively.
The key placement figure rising 4.5% above year-ago indicated producers were encouraged by May events and suggested continued reductions in feedlot supplies later this year may not be as large as previously thought. Reduced packer buying and slow processing rates likely limited last month’s marketings to just 1.7% over year-ago, essentially matching expectations, despite the additional workday over the May 2022 total.
The Monday-Thursday cash average for this week, at $182.67, would be the fifth highest all-time, just below the mid-April peak and the even greater highs reached the past three weeks. Still, grocers will likely be much more conservative in their beef purchases next week, while packers will be buying for a short kill schedule during the week of July 4.
