Cash Cattle Lower As Grains Spike Higher
Wheat and corn prices continued to find fuel this week from the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, but cattle markets were in retreat. Cash fed cattle traded in the South at $140 to $141 per cwt., $1 to $2 lower than the previous week. In the North, cattle traded at $140 to $143 live and $222 to $226 dressed, steady to $3 lower. Feeder cattle were called $2 to $5 lower.
April live cattle fell $2.575 to $135.775, down $6.15 for the week and a five-month low. April feeder futures plummeted $3.275 to $157.25, a weekly plunge of $7.50.
The biggest news came in the grains markets as wheat set a new all-time high at $13.40 for the March contract. May corn futures rose to $754, a gain of 98 cents for the week and the rally put prices near a 9-year high.
Concerns over spring demand due to high retail beef prices and the Russia/Ukraine war likely will hang over the market for the near-term. Given the events of this week many are wondering if the $143.22 weighted average cash price for the week ending February 25 was the top for spring fed cattle.
Fed cattle supplies will likely remain near annual lows in early March, then begin expanding toward seasonal summer highs. The increased supply is typically met by surging demand as grocers and consumers start gearing up for the spring grilling season. Obviously, the geopolitical situation and the downstream consequences of the Russia/Ukraine war hold the potential to cause dramatic moves up or down in the coming weeks.
