Cattle Look to Thursday After USDA Confirms Negative H5N1 Meat Samples
Live cattle were lower again on Wednesday, with contracts down $1.12 to $2.37 at the close. Cash trade has yet to develop this week. The Central Stockyards online Fed Cattle Exchange auction saw no sales on the 998 head offered, with no bids, and asks of $184-185. Last week’s trade was $182-183 in the South, steady to $1 higher. Northern trade was reported at $184-186, steady to $2 higher on the week, with a few trickling in a $187. Feeders posted losses of $3.15 to $4.17 on Tuesday. The CME Feeder Cattle index was up just 3 cents on April 30 to $247.06, with futures anticipating a decline.
Later in the day on Wednesday, USDA issues a release stating their tests on the ground beef in states where dairy herds have tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu, came back negative for the virus.
USDA’s Wholesale Boxed Beef prices were lower again in the Wednesday afternoon report. Choice boxes were down 83 cents at $293.54, with Select down $1.88 at $288.07. That took the Chc/Sel spread to $5.47. USDA estimated Wednesday’s federally inspected cattle slaughter at 123,000 head, taking the weekly total to 360,000 head. That is 3,000 head below last week and down 15,515 head from the same week last year.
Jun 24 Live Cattle closed at $173.850, down $1.125,
Aug 24 Live Cattle closed at $171.100, down $2.000,
Oct 24 Live Cattle closed at $174.850, down $2.200,
May 24 Feeder Cattle closed at $241.425, down $3.150,
Aug 24 Feeder Cattle closed at $251.750, down $3.750,
Sep 24 Feeder Cattle closed at $252.600, down $3.875,
On the date of publication, Alan Brugler 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.
