On Tuesday of each week, USDA releases a weighted average price report for all cattle sold the previous week. Spread orders between the contract months is defining almost half of all the transactions on the exchange.īenchmarking. The futures are operating on a separate track from the cash markets. Computerized momentum trading and technical signals were dominating price movement and direction. Futures continued lower despite confirmation of sharply higher cash cattle. The divergence with cash prices characterized the weekly profile of prices. Packers will attempt to fill the void with fed cattle that continue to be in short supply.Ĭattle Futures. Cow slaughter has fallen and will likely continue to decline in the face of generous rains in previously droughted out areas of the country. The slaughter this past week was 621,000 up from holiday restricted 573,000 head the previous week and down 50,000 from last year. Kansas sellers were tougher traders aided by proximity to the northern plants and posted prices that ranged from $185-$188. Texas cattle owners sold cattle at $185 - $5 higher than last week. The gains in live prices were $2-$4 while dressed prices rose $10. Northern sales are mostly concluded with live prices ranging from $190-$193 and dressed prices from $300-304. Falling futures prices did little to slow the advances of cash cattle this week. Futures prices that always tell the story of the future are out of sync with the cash markets referencing the story of the present. While market visibility is improving with more transactions reported and in better formats, reading the signals of of the marketplace are more difficult to interpret.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |