Fall Cash Fed Cattle Rally Continues
Robust beef demand continues with retailers expecting the strongest sales this holiday season since before the pandemic. Strength on the demand side continues to pull cash cattle prices higher.
Cattle in the North traded at $153 to $154 live ad $241 to $243 dressed, mostly steady to $2 higher. Volumes in the South were called light to moderate at $150 per cwt., steady with last week.
Dry, warm weather across the Plains recently appears to have accelerated feedlot performance, muting the impact of a shortage of market-ready animals and limiting price upside in live cattle futures.
Wholesale beef prices finished the week steady to lower after the two previous weeks of solid gains. Choice boxed beef closed Friday at $263.75 per cwt., up $0.74 for the week. Select boxed beef closed Friday at $231.90 per cwt., down $2.59 for the week.
Feeder cattle traded steady to $4 higher with calves selling $1 to $4 higher.
December live cattle futures rose 55 cents to $151.95, while deferred contracts declined. January feeder cattle dropped 57.5 cents to $179.425.
Weekly cattle slaughter was estimated at 667,000 head, up 15,000 head from the same week last year. Year-to-date slaughter was estimated at 28.708 million head, up 1.6% from the same period last year.
