Cattle Look to Round Out the Week After Hitting Contract Highs

Austin Schroeder Barchart Fri Jul 18, 7:40AM CDT
Two cows on green pasture by Photo Mix via Pixabay

Live cattle futures slipped back from Wednesday’s contract highs on Thursday to close with 22 to 42 cent losses. Cash trade has been light this week, with light trade picked up in KS at $230-231 and thin $242 northern action. Feeder cattle faded 30 to 60 cents lower on Thursday. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was back up 26 cents to $322.17 on July 16.

USDA reported net weekly beef export sales of 8,800 MT in Thursday morning’s update for the week ending July 10. That included the July 4th weekend.  Sales were down 24% from the pre-holiday week, with Japan the largest buyer. 

USDA Wholesale Boxed Beef prices were mixed in the Thursday PM report, with the Chc/Sel spread widening back to $19.44. Choice boxes (600-900 lb) were down $0.43 to $372.28, while Select was quoted $4.07 lower at $353.84/cwt. USDA estimated cattle slaughter for Thursday at 115,000 head, with the weekly total at 458,000. That was 20,053 head lower vs. the same weekly total in 2024.

Aug 25 Live Cattle  closed at $223.675, down $0.225,

Oct 25 Live Cattle  closed at $220.325, down $0.425,

Dec 25 Live Cattle  closed at $220.500, down $0.525,

Aug 25 Feeder Cattle  closed at $325.000, down $0.575,

Sep 25 Feeder Cattle  closed at $325.425, down $0.425,

Oct 25 Feeder Cattle  closed at $323.675, down $0.300,


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.