Beef packers continue to struggle with negative margins and a weaker futures market provided incentive for cattle owners to accept softer bids this week. Light trade volumes were found in the North with a live price at $196 per cwt. and dressed prices at $310, both $2 lower than last week. The South saw a light trade at $188 per cwt. live, also $2 lower.
Feeder cattle traded mixed at $2 lower to $2 higher while calves sold $3 lower to $3 higher. Market cows were $3 lower to $1 higher.
Wholesale beef prices closed the week virtually unchanged from last Friday. Choice boxed closed Friday at $313.77 per cwt. and Select sold at $297.17 per cwt.
Estimated weekly slaughter was 593,000 head, down 22,000 from last year. The year-to-date total was estimated at 18.484 million head, down 4.4% from last year.
Cattle slaughter was an estimated 116,000 head and Saturday’s an estimated 3000 head. The weekly total was an estimated 593,000 head, versus 615,321 head the same week last year. The year-to-date total was an estimated 18.484M head, down 850,000 head or 4.4% from 19.334M head last year. We
At the CME, October live cattle closed down $1.65 on Friday at $182.075, near mid-range and hitting a six-week low early on. For the week, October live cattle lost $6.575. October feeder cattle futures lost $4.30 to $246.575, near mid-range and hit a 7.5-month low today. For the week, October feeders fell $11.725.
The late-week meltdown in the cattle futures markets that included technically bearish weekly low closes Friday can be attributed to chart-based selling and at least partly to downbeat U.S. economic data. That included a weakening manufacturing report on Thursday and Friday’s jobs report showing slower-than-expected growth in non-farm payrolls and an uptick in unemployment in July. The data sparked a strong sell-off in the U.S. stock market that implies less consumer confidence that could negatively impact beef demand at the meat counter.
