Live cattle futures gave back some of last week’s strength on Friday, with contracts down $1.05 to $1.625 at the close. August was down just 47 cents last week. Friday’s open interest was up just 386 contracts. Cash trade finally picked up on Friday, to $255 across the country, with some picking up to $256 in the North. Feeder cattle futures posted Friday losses of $1.77 to $2.30 at the close, with August holding up $3.525 last week. OI Rose 485 contracts on Friday. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was back down $2.09 on June 10 to $368.01.
JBS announced a planned closure of its Souderton, PA slaughter plant on Friday. The plant has a kill capacity that tops 2,000 head/day.
Managed money was trimming back 5,962 contracts from their net long position in the week that ended on June 9, taking it to 109,002 contracts in live cattle futures and options. CFTC data showed specs in feeder cattle futures and options adding just 77 contracts to their net long to 10,920 contracts by Tuesday.
Wholesale Boxed Beef prices were lower in the Friday PM report, with the Chc/Sel spread at $19.21. Choice boxes were down $1.28 to $391.93, while Select was 53 cents lower at $372.72. USDA’s federally inspected cattle slaughter for the week totaled 524,000 head. That is down 7,000 from the previous week and 36,282 head below the same week last year.
Jun 26 Live Cattle closed at $249.875, down $1.600,
Aug 26 Live Cattle closed at $241.175, down $1.500,
Oct 26 Live Cattle closed at $233.800, down $1.600,
Aug 26 Feeder Cattle closed at $357.425, down $2.225,
Sep 26 Feeder Cattle closed at $354.550, down $1.975,
Oct 26 Feeder Cattle closed at $350.925, down $1.875,
On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
