Cattle markets have suffered a variety of setbacks in the past few weeks and finding supportive news is increasingly difficult. Fed cattle trade in the North was called moderate at $183 live and $292 dressed, $1 to $2 lower for both categories. Moderate trade in the South was at $182, steady with the previous week.
Feeder cattle traded mixed from $3 lower to $4 higher and calves sold mostly $4 lower to $3 higher. Market cows traded steady to $4 lower.
Wholesale beef prices traded lower on the week. Choice boxed beef closed Friday at $295.67 per cwt., down $4.90 on the week. Select boxed beef sold Friday at $290.83 per cwt., down $4.71 for the week.
Estimated weekly cattle slaughter was 620,000 head, down 5,370 head from the same week a year ago. The year-to-date total was estimated at 9.543 million head, down 4.8%.
At the CME, expiring April live cattle futures edged up 30 cents to a Friday close of $181.475. Most-active June posted a matching gain to $175.675, which marked a weekly rise of $4.20. April feeder futures skidded 27.5 cents to $241.325, whereas May feeders declined 55 cents to $242.00. The latter move represented a $7.80 weekly surge.
Cattle on Feed
April 1 Cattle on Feed inventories were up 1.5% from last year, marketing the seventh consecutive month of increases compared to the prior year. Placements were down 12% from last year while marketings were down 14% from 2023 on two fewer marketing days.
The March placement number of 1.75 million was below industry expectations.
