Although Cattle futures gained and then lost some steam to start the week, they closed mostly higher, helped along by firming wholesale beef values.
Except for 85¢ lower in spot Aug, Live Cattle futures closed an average of 26¢ higher.
Except for 15¢ lower in April, Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of 33¢ higher.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was 30¢ lower Monday afternoon at $209.05/cwt. Select was 39¢ higher at $195.81.
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Major financial indices closed narrowly mixed on Monday, with investors apparently biding their time for the quarterly earnings reports due to be released this week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 8 points lower. The S&P 500 closed fractionally lower. The NASDAQ closed 1 point higher.
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Live cattle prices could soften further with seasonal pressure, but downside risk is minimal, says Andrew P. Griffith, agricultural economist at the University of Tennessee, in his weekly market comments.
“The dog days of summer generally result in fed cattle prices softening during late summer, but the market may be indicating the rapid decline in prices the past few weeks was a little overzealous,” Griffith says. “Traders in the futures market have no clue where prices are going as most contracts from August through April have been trading within a dollar of each other.”
As for calf and feeder markets, Griffith says the market appears to be readying for seasonal strength through the rest of this month and the early part of August.
“The market is offering producers a favorable opportunity to market animals in the near term,” Griffith says. “Even if cattle are not ready to leave the farm, producers should consider selling them for a future delivery date as the upside potential may be small for cattle that will be marketed between now and the end of November.”