Cash fed cattle sales for the week were a staggering $4-$9 higher on a live basis at mostly $125/cwt. ($120-$122 in the western Corn Belt. Dressed trade was $7-$12 higher at mostly $192.
Aggressive gains in cash fed cattle prices late Thursday and on Friday fueled sharp gains in Cattle futures on Friday.
Live Cattle futures closed an average of $2.79 higher through the front three contracts ($2.40 to $3.00 higher) and then an average of $1.09 higher.
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of $2.82 higher ($2.50 to $3.30 higher).
Choice boxed beef cutout value was 49¢ higher Friday afternoon at $208.74/cwt. Select was 8¢ lower at $193.08.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed higher on Friday with continued support from the Republican tax-reform proposal and strong quarterly earnings reports, including Apple.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 22 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 7 points higher. The NASDAQ closed 49 points higher.
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“Cattle feeders are anxious to refill pens after selling cattle at $125/cwt., $14 higher than just two short weeks ago,” said analysts with the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) on Friday. “Old timers will recall fed cattle moving by leaps and bounds back in the fall of 2003 and they all remember that what goes up usually comes down.”
Of course, the fall of 2003 was a completely different situation, when Canada was locked out of the international beef marketplace due to BSE and before the U.S. followed suit in December. This time around, it appears that pure demand economics are behind the surge in prices and volume of trade.
“For the past three weeks, auction receipts averaged 316,000 head compared to 289,000 for the previous three-year average,” AMS analysts say.