Cattle Prices Continue Dipping, Pressure on Markets
Cattle markets continue to feel pressure, especially after October live cattle futures dipped below the dollar mark at CME.
The price is down roughly $10 over the past 3 weeks.
Cattle feeders are feeling the pain. Cash-fed cattle prices are dropping on the large increase in slaughter numbers.
Total daily harvest numbers in August were nearly 16 percent higher than last year. Steer slaughter is up 13 percent, while heifer numbers are 22 percent higher.
According to analysts, these cattle markets are struggling to find the bottom.
“We’re getting awfully cheap here into some multi-month, multi-year lows in some instances,” said Joe Vaclavik of CME. “Picking a bottom in the bear market is always difficult business.”
On the retail side, markets are still trying to evaluate how much beef hit the grill over the Labor Day weekend.
There’s hope tailgating at the start of football season could also help move beef stocks.