28 January 2013

2 minute read

North America

Bulls still have work to do in order to signal near-term lows have been posted. Futures should get a lift from this afternoon's Cattle on Feed Report, which showed On Feed at 94 per cent, Placements at 99 per cent and Marketings at 98 per cent of year-ago levels.

The report reflects a tighter-than-expected feedlot situation, according to Profarmer. February cattle closed 42 higher on the session and closed up 135 higher for the week.

The market traded as much as 112 higher on the day to 127.00 and pushed to a 5-session peak early.

A firming tone to the cash market after Midwest cattle jumped $1.00 late yesterday helped to support the market. The sharp drop in the beef price this week has been seen as a negative factor but there was talk today that the lower beef trade this week could spark more aggressive volume and this helped to support.

In addition, traders see a declining showlist in the weeks just ahead. The cattle on feed report will be released after the close and this may have limited the advance as traders position for the report.

Boxed-beef cut-out values came in at $187.60, down 41 cents from yesterday and down from $192.20 last week. Select beef was down 1 cent to $182.18. Weekly U.S. beef export sales for the week ending January 17th came in at 14,200 metric tonnes.

Cumulative sales for 2013 have reached 134,500 metric tonnes, up 4.3 per cent from last year's pace.

Slaughter for today came in at 122,000 head which was well above expectations which can sometimes suggest improving packer demand.

Slaughter for the week reached 625,000 head, up 4 per cent from last year. Due to heavier weights, production for the week is estimated at 500.1 million pounds, up 6.2 per cent from last year.

TheCattleSite News Desk