Cattle Higher in Active Trade; COF Neutral
Cattle in all regions saw an active trade with a heavy volume of sales.
Cattle in the South sold at $143 per cwt., which is $1 higher. Cattle in the North traded at $144 to $147 per cwt. live and $228 to $232 dressed, generally $1 to $3 higher.
December live cattle fell 80 cents on Friday to $148.55, a seven-week low and down $2.425 for the week. November feeder cattle futures rose 20 cents to $178.25, down $4.50 for the week.
Cattle futures faded sharply late week as heightened geopolitical and recession worries sent financial and commodity markets reeling. Consumer confidence may be shaken, which bodes poorly for beef demand. Today’s technically bearish weekly low closes also suggest follow-through chart-based selling pressure early next week.
Cattle on Feed: August placements higher than expected. USDA estimated there were 11.279 million head of cattle in large feedlots (1,000-plus head) as of Sept. 1, which was up 45,000 head (0.4%) from year-ago and the average pre-report estimate. August placements also rose 0.4% from last year, while marketings topped year-ago by 6.4%.
