Last week’s steady to higher cash fed cattle trade and firmer recent wholesale beef values helped push Live Cattle futures higher on Tuesday, sharply higher in the nearby contracts. Feeder Cattle futures closed a little higher, too, but shy of early support.
Live Cattle futures closed an average of $1.11 higher (65¢ to $2.27 higher in spot Oct).
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of 55¢ higher (30¢ to 70¢ higher).
Choice boxed beef cutout value was 73¢ lower Tuesday afternoon at $197.40/cwt. Select was $1.36 higher at $190.02.
******************************
Major U.S. financial indices closed higher on Tuesday, supported by Walmart’s announcement that it would buy back up to $20 billion worth of stock in a share repurchase program over the next to years.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 69 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 5 points higher. The NASDAQ closed 7 points higher.
******************************
Heavy native steer hide values account for most of the recent decline in beef byproduct values, according to the Livestock Marketing Information Center (LMIC).
“Typically, hides account for about a half of the total value of the non-conventional meat products coming from the slaughter process,” LMIC analysts say, in the most recent Livestock Monitor. They explain hide prices declined about $6 since late June to $60 currently. Last year, they say the same grade of hide was valued at $75 in June (AMS reports) and declined only $1 heading into early October.
LMIC analysts say the $10.35/cwt. byproduct value in early October was the lowest for any week since April of 2010. Other key byproducts are liver, tallow (edible and inedible), tongues, oxtails, and tripe.