January nears its end with the fed cattle market still searching for the legs to carry it higher. The early month prices have proven to be a tease as steady rules the day the last couple of weeks.
Cash fed cattle closed Friday in the North with a moderate to active trade at $136 to $139 per cwt. live and $218 dressed. The South saw similar activity with prices at $137 live, also steady with last week. All commodities saw volatile activity driven by economic policy and war threats.
The supply of ready cattle are at their tightest now through April before numbers climb higher during the summer. Analysts note that the widespread drought has and will continue to push cattle into feedyards as grazing programs are shortened by the lack of rain.
Estimated weekly cattle slaughter was 643,000 head, about 7,000 head more than last week, but 12,000 head lower than the same week last year. The year-to-date total was 2.517 million head, down 6.4% from 2021.
Wholesale beef prices eased lower for the week, with the Choice boxed beef closing Friday at $290.41 per cwt., $1.99 lower. Select closed at $283.41 per cwt., up $1.08.
April live cattle rose $1.475 to $143.00, up 90 cents for the week. March feeder cattle rose 12 1/2 cents to $159.625, down $3.675 for the week.
USDA will release its semi-annual Cattle inventory report for the U.S. after the close Monday, which may keep many traders sidelined. The report probably will reflect ongoing herd liquidation across the U.S., with significant declines in the beef cow population, number of heifers slated to join the breeding herd, 2021 calf crop and the number of younger animals destined for feedlots. Given the minimal amount of information the report typically holds concerning the short-term fed cattle outlook, it will be much more pertinent for feeder futures than those for fed cattle.
The short-term live cattle outlook doesn’t seem bullish, given an apparent backlog of market-ready cattle recently found in feedlots. However, a drop in steer dressed weights, to 922 pounds per head, marked a six-pound weekly decline and seemingly indicated some tightening of front-end supplies.
