Hulett: Light Trade Due to Holiday Weekend
The light volume in cattle trade played out just as any other week before a holiday does. The packer’s needs were very minimal and therefore kept prices steady to a little lower for the week. The South had a wide range in prices with cash ranging from $118 to $126 per cwt., depending on quality. This was the first week in a long time that packers would consider taking on cattle with a more plant average grade at some level.
The market in the North continued to hold strong with most live cattle bringing $125-$126 per cwt. and dressed cattle $195-$197. Packers have been very aggressive on the high-grading cattle. Due to this aggressiveness producers are beginning to see carcass weights drop and also grade beginning to head lower.
Packers will still have a holiday-shortened week that they are buying for, but most packers have been more than a week out and there should be lots of buying for the week of July 12th. The one thing that may be fading away is the fake market that has been propped up by the packer. This will allow producers with more average cattle to be able to get them moved at some price, rather than just having to wait while the high-graders get picked through each week.
