Live cattle futures pushed higher into the Wednesday close, with contracts up $1.70 to $1.90 in the nearbys. The Wednesday morning Fed Cattle Exchange online auction showed $218 bids on 984 of the 1,064 head offered, with another BidTheGrid™ sale at $228 in IA. Outside of that, sales of $230-231 were reported in NE. Feeder cattle futures were up $3 to $3.25 on Wednesday. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was up $1.00 to $314.10 on July 1.
USDA Wholesale Boxed Beef prices were mixed in the Wednesday afternoon report, with the Chc/Sel spread narrowing to $14.55. Choice boxes were down 74 to $394.86, while Select was quoted 25 cents higher at $380.31/cwt. USDA’s Federally inspected cattle slaughter for Wednesday was estimated at 122,000 head, with the weekly total at 360,000 head. That was 13,000 head above the previous week and 4,283 head more vs. the same week last year.
Aug 25 Live Cattle closed at $212.450, up $1.700,
Oct 25 Live Cattle closed at $209.700, up $1.900,
